임파워링 리더십이 구성원들에게 미치는 부정적인 영향

The Negative Impact of Empowering Leadership on the Members - Focusing on Job Control Characteristic of Empowering Leadership -

본 연구는 임파워링 리더십의 긍정적인 효과를 제시한 대다수의 선행연구와는 다른 시각에서 임파워링 리더십을 통해 부여되는 권한, 자율성 및 책임이 오히려 구성원들의 신체적·심리적 부담을 유발하여 부정적인 영향을 미칠 수 있다는 주장에 주목하였다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 임파워링 리더십이 구성원들의 직무과부하를 증가시키고 이를 통해 직무 스트레스를 간접적으로 증가시키는 부정적인 효과를 가질 수 있다는 가설을 설정하고 이를 검증하고자 하였다. 또한, 각각의 구성원들이 가지고 있는 권력거리성향에 따라 부여된 권한, 자율성 및 책임에 대해 느끼는 감정과 태도가 다를 것으로 가정하고 임파워링 리더십과 직무과부하 사이에서 개인적 특성인 권력거리성향이 조절 및 조절된 매개역할을 하는지 검증하고자 하였다. 이상의 연구목적을 달성하기 위해 국내 기업 및 조직에 재직하는 401명의 구성원에게 수집된 설문을 분석한 결과, 첫째, 임파워링 리더십은 직무과부하에 유의미한 정(+)의 영향을 미쳤다. 둘째, 직무과부하는 직무 스트레스에 유의미한 정(+)의 영향을 미쳤다. 셋째, 직무과부하는 임파워링 리더십과 직무 스트레스의 관계를 매개하는 것으로 나타났다. 넷째, 임파워링 리더십과 직무과부하의 관계에서 권력거리성향의 조절효과는 유의하지 않은 것으로 나타났다. 다섯째, 직무과부하의 매개효과에 대한 권력거리성향의 조절된 매개효과 역시 유의하지 않은 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 권력거리성향의 조절된 매개효과에서 조건부 간접효과를 살펴본 결과, 중간 집단과 낮은 집단에서는 권력거리성향의 조절된 매개효과가 유의한 것으로 나타났으며, 그 효과는 권력거리성향이 중간인 집단 보다 낮은 집단에서 임파워링 리더십이 직무과부하를 통해 직무 스트레스에 미치는 정(+)의 영향이 더 높은 것으로 나타났다. 이와 같은 결과를 바탕으로 본 연구에서는 임파워링 리더십의 부정적인 매커니즘을 살펴보고, 임파워링 리더십이 올바르게 기능할 수 있도록 임파워링 리더십의 부정적인 효과를 줄일 수 있는 방안을 수립하는 등 인적자원관리 측면에서 유용한 이론적·실무적 시사점을 제공하고자 한다.

According to previous research that investigated the relationship between empowering leadership and job stress, empowering leadership decreases job stress by elevating psychological empowerment of members. However, some studies demonstrated that empowering leadership has caused to psychological burden of members and increases job stress. However, most of previous studies have focused on the positive effects of empowering leadership on the members. However, we have interested in the claim that authority, autonomy, and responsibility generated from empowering leadership can cause negative impacts on members by increasing physical and psychological burden of members. Therefore, in current paper, we assumed that empowering leadership will increase job stress by generating work overload. In addition, we expected that emotions and attitudes toward both authority and autonomy induced from empowering leadership will depend on power distance orientation of each member. Therefore, this paper tried to examine whether the power distance orientation plays a role of both moderation and moderated mediation in the relationship between empowering leadership and work overload. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, this study conducted structural model and conditional process analysis of survey data collecting by 401 members who are working in domestic companies and organizations. The result of the analyses are as follows: First, empowering leadership had a significant positive effect on work overload. Second, work overload had a significant positive effect on job stress. Third, in the relationship between empowering leadership and job stress, the mediating effect of work overload was significant. Fourth, in the relationship between empowering leadership and work overload, the moderating effect of power distance orientation was not significant. Fifth, the moderated mediation role of power distance orientation on the mediating effect of work overload was not significant. However, the results of examining the conditional indirect effect on the moderated mediation effect of the power distance orientation showed that the moderated mediation role of the power distance orientation was significant in the both middle and low conditions. Further, the effect of leadership on job stress which is mediated by work overload was stronger in low (vs. middle) power distance orientation. Based on these results, this study suggests meaningful theoretical contributions and practical implications in terms of human resource management, such as enhancing understanding of empowering leadership and establishing strategies to reduce the negative influences of empowering leadership. First, in order to offset work overload by focusing on the positive role of empowering leadership such as reducing job stress, organizations need to provide additional job resources, growth opportunities, and an acceptable level of empowering based on the job proficiency and experience of the members. Furthermore, in the conditional indirect effect of the power distance orientation, the effect of empowering leadership on increasing job stress through work overload was higher in the low (vs. middle) power distance orientation. This results displayed that empowering leadership may have various causes and intensity that lead to work overload, depending on the individual characteristics of the members. Therefore, leaders need to listen to the subordinates opinion to find a cause of increased work overload by empowering leadership and also need to explore and provide the resources needed for subordinates to eliminate the cause.