Addressing virtual work challenges through women’s innate compassionate managerial leadership behaviors: the case of Nigeria

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how women’s compassionate leadership behaviors relate to physical isolation, trust building and turnover intention in virtual work environments in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachThe authors collected quantitative data through two-wave surveys from 428 respondents in virtual work environments across public and private organizations in Nigeria. The proposed hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling.FindingsThe outcomes from the test of hypotheses suggest that women’s compassionate managerial leadership behaviors negatively relate to physical isolation among virtual workers. Conversely, a positive link was found between women’s compassionate managerial leadership behaviors and trust building. Further, an inverse association was found between women’s compassionate managerial leadership behaviors and turnover intention among virtual workers.Practical implicationsBased on the findings, organizations may consider deploying more women managers to virtual work schedules to address trust, isolation and turnover intention challenges. Also, HR practitioners may consider training male managers in virtual work on how to restructure their relationships with subordinates to reflect compassionate attributes so that subordinates can feel safe sharing their worries with them for timely support. Policy-wise, relevant government agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of emancipating women from career-inhibiting patriarchal practices in Africa (i.e. confining women to the house) should encourage women to embrace the homeworking model, which holds great career potential for women.Originality/valueAs a response to the current calls for research on the suitable leadership style for virtual work environments, this study empirically demonstrates that women’s innate compassionate leadership behaviors significantly address physical isolation, trust and turnover intention challenges in virtual work settings. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that explores the link between these variables. As such, this study substantially enriches the literature on gender in management.