Are Bad Leaders indeed Bad for Employees? A Meta-Analysis and Review of Longitudinal Studies

Abstract

Does having bad leaders have long-lasting adverse outcomes for employees? To address this question, we conducted a meta-analysis by focusing on longitudinal field studies (i.e., multi-wave and panel designs), and investigated the long-term impact of destructive leadership on employee outcomes. Results from 87 articles with 111 independent studies (N = 31,546) showed that destructive leadership has a detrimental impact on employee behavioral (e.g., OCB, deviance, CWB, and avoidance) and attitudinal outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction and work commitment). Interestingly, the cross-lagged analysis showed that whereas destructive leadership did not predict employee negative behavior over time, employees’ negative behaviors did predict destructive leadership across time. Theoretical for future research and practical implications are discussed.