The influence of Leadership Style on Employee Wellbeing during a pandemic

Abstract

The influence of leadership style on employee wellbeing in a pandemic such as Covid-19 has not received much attention in the leadership literature. Apparently, available literature seems to portray leadership and employee wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic from a largely psychological perspective. The potential for integrating the leadership with employee wellbeing literature is great and is likely to be beneficial for both theory and practice. This paper is a systematic literature review focusing on the relationship between five leadership styles and employee wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data were from secondary sources, mainly recently published journal articles on the impact of leadership on wellbeing during Covid-19. Findings indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between leadership style and employees’ wellbeing. Findings also reflect that employee wellbeing in a pandemic such as Covid-19 is maintained and restored through creativity, maintenance of relationships, minimisation of safety related concerns, social support and empowerment.