The perfect storm: How leader perfectionism fuels employee work-family conflict and presenteeism

Prior research links leader traits and employee health outcomes, but the processes connecting leaders’ other-oriented perfectionism (LOOP) to employee presenteeism – particularly through work-family conflict – are not well understood. Integrating Conservation of Resources theory and the scarcity hypothesis, we propose that employees’ work-family conflict mediates the relationship between team-level perceptions of LOOP and presenteeism. The hypothesis was tested using a multilevel mediation model based on a three-wave longitudinal survey collected over six months from 483 employees nested within 102 teams. Supporting predictions, shared team perceptions of LOOP were positively related to employees’ work-family conflict, which, in turn, was positively linked to employees’ presenteeism. These effects were observed even after accounting for baseline work-family conflict and presenteeism, and other controls (negative affect, general health, workload, job control, and demographics). Findings contribute to occupational health psychology, indicating that LOOP extends its influence beyond the workplace, impacting employee health and family outcomes.