Transformational leadership and quality of work life: A mediation model of trust climate

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of managers’ transformational leadership on employees’ quality of work life through the mediation effect of firms’ climate of trust in the hospitality industry. The study was conducted with operational employees working in three-star hotels in Bangladesh. Data were gathered from 186 respondents by a structured questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS 21 and SmartPLS 3.0 software. To test the hypothesized model, the study used a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) by SmartPLS 3.0. The results of this study revealed the strong direct effects (p < .05) of managers’ transformational leadership (β = 0.433) and firm’s trust climate (β = 0.183) on the employees’ quality of work life with a variance (R2) of 31.9%, and also the significant impact of managers’ transformational leadership (β = 0.599) on firm’s trust climate with a variance (R2) of 35.9%. The study also exposed a significant mediation effect (p < .05) of firms’ climate of trust (β = 0.112) in the relationship between managers’ transformational leadership and employees’ quality of work life. The findings suggest that a trust climate is such an internal mechanism that can convert transformational leadership practices into employee satisfaction with their professional life, while transformational managers can build the climate as well as enrich people’s lives at work.