Going the extra mile (or not) : a moderated mediation analysis of job resources, abusive leadership, autonomous motivation, and extra-role performance

Abusive leadership is particularly prevalent in nursing and it can have multiple adverse effects on performance at work. However, little research has examined whether and under what conditions abusive leadership may be detrimental to nurses’ extra-role performance. This cross-sectional study explores whether abusive leadership intensifies the effects of emotional job resources on autonomous motivation, a psychological mechanism that could be responsible for extra-role performance. Data were collected from dyads of registered French-Canadian nurses and their immediate supervisors (n = 99 dyads). The models were tested with path analysis using Mplus. Our results show that extra-role performance is positively associated with nurses’ job emotional resources and autonomous motivation, but negatively associated with abusive leadership. Nurses’ cynicism is also negatively associated with autonomous motivation. Importantly, the indirect relation between emotional resources and extra-role performance through autonomous motivation is moderated by abusive leadership, providing support for a moderated mediation effect. These results add to those supporting a similar moderated mediation mechanism to explain employee attitudes and demonstrate the relevance of self-determination theory in a work context. These findings reinforce the need to focus on the quality of leadership practices as well as interventions aimed at promoting the performance of nurses at work.