Leader narcissism and employee work-life balance

: an industry-specific analysis

Abstract

This research investigates the relationship between grandiose narcissism in leaders and employee Work-Life Balance (WLB), examining how the industry type factor moderates this dynamic. Analyzing over 3,000 employee reviews from 14 different industries in the United States, the study employs a quantitative approach to assess narcissistic leadership behaviors and their impact on WLB. Contrary to expectations, the direct effect of leader narcissism on employee WLB was not statistically significant. However, industry types do moderate the effect: In things-oriented industries, higher leader narcissism correlates with slightly lower WLB, while in people-oriented industries, higher leader narcissism surprisingly associates with improved employee WLB. These findings contribute with insights to the debate on narcissistic leadership, suggesting that its effects on employee WLB are context-dependent. The study challenges the uniformly negative view of narcissistic leadership and highlights the importance of considering industry-specific factors in organizational practices. It calls for future research to explore the underlying mechanisms driving these relationships and to examine the distinct dimensions of narcissistic leadership.

Date of Award	7 Jul 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jon Gruda (Supervisor)