Transformational Leadership, Workplace Incivility, Emotional Intelligence, and Their Influence on Employee Work Engagement: A Systematic Review
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract: This systematic review examined the influence of transformational leadership, workplace incivility, and emotional intelligence on employee work engagement. The study was motivated by the growing recognition of engagement as a key driver of organizational performance and employee well-being. The objective was to synthesize existing empirical evidence on how these three factors shape engagement levels in diverse workplace settings. The review followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and analyzed peer-reviewed studies published between 2010 and 2024. Databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were searched, and relevant studies were screened based on predefined eligibility criteria. A narrative synthesis approach was adopted to integrate findings from quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research. The findings revealed that transformational leadership consistently enhanced work engagement by fostering inspiration, trust, and psychological safety. Workplace incivility, on the other hand, significantly undermined engagement by increasing stress and reducing employees' emotional investment in their work. Emotional intelligence emerged as a critical personal resource, helping employees sustain engagement by managing stress and maintaining positive workplace relationships. Despite these insights, limitations such as cross-sectional designs and self-report biases were noted. The study highlighted the importance of positive leadership, respectful workplace interactions, and emotional competence in promoting employee engagement. Organizations were recommended to invest in leadership development programs, implement policies to reduce incivility, and incorporate emotional intelligence training into employee well-being initiatives. Future research should explore longitudinal and cross-cultural studies to strengthen causal inferences and broaden practical applicability.
Downloads
References
Al-Atwi, A. A., & Bakir, A. (2022). Workplace incivility and employee engagement: The mediating role of psychological safety. Journal of Management Development, 41(1), 53–67.
Albrecht, S. L. (2010). Handbook of employee engagement: Perspectives, issues, research and practice. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Andersson, L. M., & Pearson, C. M. (1999). Tit for tat? The spiraling effect of incivility in the workplace. Academy of Management Review, 24(3), 452–471.
Bakker, A. B., & Albrecht, S. (2018). Work engagement: Current trends. Career Development International, 23(1), 4–11.
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and performance beyond expectations. Free Press.
Breevaart, K., & Bakker, A. B. (2018). Daily job demands and employee work engagement: The role of daily transformational leadership behavior. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23(3), 338–349.
Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. Harper & Row.
Crawford, E. R., LePine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 834–848.
De Clercq, D., Haq, I. U., & Azeem, M. U. (2021). Workplace incivility and work engagement: Testing a moderated mediation model of family incivility and resilience. Current Psychology, 40, 5152–5166.
De Clercq, D., Haq, I. U., Azeem, M. U., & Raja, U. (2021). Family incivility and job performance: The protective roles of family-supportive supervisor behaviors and work engagement. Journal of Business Research, 131, 653–664.
Gallup. (2020). State of the global workplace: 2020 report. Gallup Press. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com
Ghosh, K., Rai, A., & Sinha, A. (2020). Role of emotional intelligence and resilience on employee engagement: An empirical study. Industrial and Commercial Training, 52(4), 195–208.
Ghosh, R., Shuck, B., Cumberland, D. M., & Dworkis, R. (2020). Who uses emotional intelligence? A qualitative study of responses to workplace stress. International Journal of Organizational Analysis, 28(2), 456–474.
Han, J., Yin, H., Wang, W., & Zhang, J. (2021). Transformational leadership and work engagement among teachers: The mediating role of psychological empowerment. Psychology in the Schools, 58(7), 1271–1286.
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268–279.
Huang, Y., Wellman, N., Ashford, S. J., Lee, C., & Wang, L. (2020). Deviance and exit: The organizational costs of job insecurity and moral disengagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 105(2), 111–129.
Kaur, P., Malhotra, A., & Sharma, S. K. (2022). Emotional intelligence as a determinant of employee engagement: A meta-analytic review. Human Resource Development Review, 21(1), 3–25.
Macey, W. H., & Schneider, B. (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(1), 3–30.
Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In Salovey, P. & Sluyter, D. (Eds.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications (pp. 3–31). Basic Books.
Meier, L. L., & Gross, S. (2021). The long arm of workplace incivility: Daily work demands and mental health in employees' private lives. Occupational Health Science, 5(1), 1–19.
Miao, C., Humphrey, R. H., & Qian, S. (2018). Emotional intelligence and employee engagement: A meta-analysis. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 39(5), 682–699.
Nkan, E. E., Essien, O. O., Umoren, O. A., Inyang, U. E. (2025), Moderating Role of Transformational Leadership in the Relationship between Workplace Incivility, Emotional Intelligence, and Work Engagement. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation, 8(1), 68-86.
Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., et al. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71.
Saks, A. M., & Gruman, J. A. (2014). What do we really know about employee engagement? Human Resource Development Quarterly, 25(2), 155–182.
Schaufeli, W. B., & Taris, T. W. (2014). A critical review of the Job Demands-Resources model: Implications for improving work and health. In Bauer, G. & Hämmig, O. (Eds.), Bridging occupational, organizational and public health (pp. 43–68). Springer.
Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92.
Xu, X., Jiang, H., Faraz, N. A., & Ma, Q. (2022). Authentic leadership and work engagement: The mediating roles of positive psychological capital and psychological safety. Current Psychology, 41, 2236–2247.
Zhang, X., Zhou, M., & Mao, Y. (2022). How transformational leadership promotes work engagement: The mediating effect of psychological empowerment and job characteristics. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 879565
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All articles published in our journal are licensed under CC-BY 4.0, which permits authors to retain copyright of their work. This license allows for unrestricted use, sharing, and reproduction of the articles, provided that proper credit is given to the original authors and the source.