When and how developmental rewards and expected contributions relate to emotional exhaustion through work engagement: the multilevel moderating role of the leader’s work pressure

This study focuses on public secondary schools to examine the extent to which leader-level job demands impact the relationship between employees’ job resources, job demands, and well-being. Specifically, we investigate (1) how teachers’ developmental rewards and expected contributions relate to their work engagement and emotional exhaustion and (2) the role of school principals’ work pressure in this relationship. Building on recent developments in job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, we argue a leaders’ work pressure can trickle down to the employee level. Hierarchical linear analyses reveal that principals’ work pressure moderates the relationship between teachers’ expected contributions and emotional exhaustion. We thus add to JD-R theory by suggesting that employee work outcomes are also shaped by job demands at the leader level. Policies aimed at improving employee well-being should therefore be based on a comprehensive image of the organization that also takes the leader’s job demands into account.