Examining the mediating effect of diversity climate on the relationship between destructive leadership and employee attitudes

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the mediating effect of diversity climate on the relation between a destructive leadership style and employee attitudes of organisational commitment, job satisfaction, and intention to quit. Participants were employees from the financial, banking, retail, and manufacturing sector in Gauteng province, South Africa (N = 230). The employees completed measures of autocratic leadership, diversity climate, job satisfaction, intentions to quit, and commitment. Simple mediation analysis revealed a pro-diversity climate to mediate the relationship between non-destructive leadership, organisational commitment, and job satisfaction. Non-destructive leadership predicted a constructive diversity climate, lower levels of intention to quit, higher levels of job satisfaction, and improved organisational commitment. Non-destructive leadership was conducive to diversity climate improving on employee organisational commitment and job satisfaction.

Keywords:

• autocratic leadership
• destructive leadership
• diversity climate
• intention to quit
• mediation
• South Africa

ORCID

Sean McCallaghan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4864-3457

Leon T. B. Jackson http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5859-7581

Marita M Heyns http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8829-9857