Introduction: In today's fast-paced work environment, technological advancements, evolving workplace dynamics, and organizational preference for high-performing employees have intensified employees' time and energy investment known as Heavy Work Investment (HWI), expressed through two contrasting forms—work engagement and workaholism. Although both constructs have been studied, existing merely cross-sectional research examines them separately, neglecting shared predictors, underlying mechanisms, the role of leadership and multilevel longitudinal designs, to understand HWIs evolving nature.
Purpose: Building on servant leadership (SL) emphasis on employee development and well-being, we introduce thriving at work (learning, vitality) as a mechanism linking SL to employee HWI. Drawing on Social Exchange Theory, we argue that when SL influence employee thriving, employees might reciprocate back by investing greater time and energy in work, leading to positive and negative HWI.
Methodology: Data were collected online at seven time points across three waves (two-month intervals) from 234 full-time employees with diverse professions. We run multilevel path analysis using the 'lavaan' package in R.
Findings: SL had a paradoxical impact on employee HWI. Specifically, SL significantly had a positive influence on employee vitality (β = 0.22, p < .001), which in turn, had a positive impact on work engagement (β = 0.77, p < .001) and workaholism (β = 0.24, p < .001). Also, SL had a positive impact on employee learning (β = 0.21, p < .001), which in turn, had a positive influence on work engagement (β = 0.51, p < .001) and workaholism (β = 0.25, p < .001).
Conclusion: SL can have a paradoxical influence on employee HWI, influencing its positive and negative forms. To sustain positive forms of HWI, while minimizing negative forms, SL must actively promote healthy work boundaries by encouraging regular breaks, limiting excessive overtime, supporting the use of vacation days, and discouraging work during personal time.