New employee intention to leave and consequent work performance: Does leadership style matter?

We examined how leadership style affects the relationship between new employee intention to leave (NEIL) and the consequent work performance of that employee. We focused on NEIL with employees who had begun work at a large hospitality firm in China, and tested the consequences of leadership style on their work performance. We compared the moderating effects of abusive and ethical leadership styles on the relationship between NEIL and the employees’ consequent work performance. We collected survey data from responses from a sample of 355 leader–employee dyads, with 61 leaders supervising the groups of employees. Results showed that NEIL had a negative effect on the employees’ consequent work performance. In addition, an abusive leadership style increased this negative effect, whereas an ethical leadership style helped to neutralize the effect.