How Avoidant Leadership Style Turns Employees Into Adversaries: The Impact of Laissez-Faire Leadership on Employee-Organization Relationships and Employee Communicative Behavior

Abstract

The study aimed to establish linkages among laissez-faire leadership, perceived organizational justice, employee-organization relationships, and employees’ negative megaphoning behavior. Through an online survey of 397 employees working in large and medium corporations in the United States and the structural equation modeling analysis of the data, this study revealed the following findings. Results showed that laissez-faire leadership and employees’ engagement in negative megaphoning behavior were positively related. There was also a strong and positive association between perceived organizational justice and employee-organization relationships. Employees’ relationships with the organization were negatively related to employees’ engagement in negative megaphoning behavior. Perceived organizational justice was revealed as a mediator in the relationship among laissez-faire leadership, employee-organization relationships, and employees’ engagement in negative megaphoning behavior. These results show how laissez-faire leadership relates to negative outcomes of organizational relationships and reputation, and provide insight into the potential mechanisms at play.