Leader–member exchange, work–family enrichment and their effects on mental health: the moderating role of remote e-work

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of leader–member exchange (LMX) and work–family enrichment (WFE) on anxiety and depression, social functioning and loss of confidence as three dimensions of mental health. Furthermore, the paper aims to investigate telework and information and communication technology-based mobile work (TICTM) as a moderator of the effects of LMX and WFE on mental health. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 214 Bangladeshi employees in the public and private sectors via an online survey. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and multi-group analysis were performed to gauge the abovementioned linkages. Findings The findings reveal that LMX fosters employees' social functioning while it mitigates their losing confidence. The findings further indicate that WFE enhances social functioning while alleviating anxiety and depression. However, TICTM did not act as a moderator of the effects of LMX and WFE on three dimensions of mental health. Originality/value Despite a plethora of empirical studies on LMX and WFE, no empirical studies have examined the effect on employee mental health as well as TICTM as a moderator in these linkages in the extant service literature so far. This paper set out to fill in these voids.