The Effect of Servant Leadership on Work Engagement: The Role of Employee Resilience and Organizational Support

Abstract

Employees suffer from low resources in the workplace because of multiple work roles in project-based organization (PBO). Based on the conservation of resources theory (COR), this study identifies both employee resilience and organizational support as critical personal and job resources. It then examines how servant leadership enhances employee work engagement in PBO through the mediating roles of employee resilience and organizational support. This study uses a questionnaire-based quantitative research design to collect data from 437 employees in PBO. The collected data were analyzed by partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test hypotheses. The research findings indicate that servant leadership positively affects work engagement. Additionally, the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement is mediated by employee resilience and organizational support. This study deepens the understanding of how servant leadership promotes work engagement in PBO by providing personal and job resources. The findings deepen our understanding of how servant leadership enhances work engagement in PBO. The findings also provide implications for PBO to enhance sustainable well-being at work and organizational productivity.