Can’t get you out of my head: The stress-driven dual effects of LMX Ambivalence

Abstract

How can a complicated, ambivalent relationship with a boss be both draining and generative? This paper challenges the view that leader–member exchange (LMX) ambivalence is solely harmful. Using the Challenge–Hindrance Stressor Framework, we examine how conflicting feelings toward a leader can be experienced as both constraining and motivating. We focus on epistemic motivation—the tendency to seek deeper understanding—as a key factor that shapes how followers process such ambiguity. Across three studies, LMX ambivalence was linked to two distinct outcomes: emotional exhaustion and voice. These associations operated through different ruminative pathways: affective rumination, characterized by intrusive negative thoughts, and problem-solving pondering, involving reflective sense-making. Followers higher in epistemic motivation were less inclined toward affective rumination and more inclined toward problem-solving pondering, thereby strengthening the link between ambivalence and constructive voice while softening its association with exhaustion. Our findings highlight the hybrid nature of LMX ambivalence and suggest that it does not uniformly undermine followers but can also be associated with adaptive engagement. By unpacking the interplay of ambivalence, rumination, and epistemic motivation, this research provides a more balanced account of the complexities of leader–follower relationships.