Clark, Renee, Shaw, Lauren, and Somoray, Klaire (2026) The Impact of Leadership in Fostering Work Engagement in Hybrid and Remote Work: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies. (In Press)

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Abstract

The growth of hybrid and remote work has renewed interest in how leadership supports employee work engagement in digitally mediated environments. Although leadership is a well-established predictor of engagement, most evidence is drawn from co-located contexts. This meta-analysis advances contextual leadership research by estimating the overall association between leadership and engagement in hybrid and remote work and testing moderation by work arrangement, leadership category, cultural context, and engagement measure. A systematic search of five databases (2015–2025) identified 24 independent samples (N = 8,166) using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Risk of bias was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) cross-sectional checklist, and random-effects models were applied. Leadership showed a moderate positive association with engagement (r = .39, 95% CI [.33, .45]). Heterogeneity was high (I² = 90%) and partly explained by leadership category, which accounted for 33% of between-study variance. Relations-oriented behaviours demonstrated the strongest associations (r = .50), followed by change-oriented behaviours (r = .48), then task-oriented behaviours (r = .32) and supervisor-support constructs (r = .31). Overall, leadership continues to predict engagement when work is dispersed, underscoring the importance of contextual and relationally focused leader behaviours for supporting employees’ psychological need for relatedness when face-to-face interaction is limited.

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