Connecting the dots: linking empowering leadership, employee work passion, and flourishing-at-work

This paper aims to examine the relationship between empowering leadership and the holistic well-being construct, i.e. flourishing-at-work.

On the basis of an extensive review of literature and using conservation of resource (COR) theory and self-determination theory (SDT), this study proposes a conceptual framework with employee work passion (EWP) as a link connecting empowering leadership and flourishing-at-work.

Empowering leadership has the ability to enhance EWP and thereby increase the overall well-being of employees (flourishing). Moreover, the study demonstrates that EWP serves as a potential mechanism connecting empowering leadership and flourishing-at-work.

Being a conceptual paper, the proposed framework lacks empirical validation.

Organizations should focus on leaders with empowering behaviours and strive towards increasing EWP.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to propose the role of EWP as a possible conceptual link between empowering leadership and employee flourishing-at-work. This paper emphasizes the importance of flourishing-at-work in the current climate of rising mental tensions among employees, which leads to adverse organizational outcomes.