Professor Lei's research group published an article in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, revealing the interaction mechanism between the leader-subordinate exchange (LMX) and LMX differentiation on employees' stress perception

Building high-quality relationships with leaders can boost employee happiness
.
However, employees can not only evaluate their own relationship with their leaders (employee LMX), but also observe how leaders treat other team members (LMX differences).

。 When employees perceive differences in their relationship between leaders and team members, how does it affect the relationship between LMX and well-being (e.
g.
, stress at work)? In this regard, Professor Lei's research group at the School of Psychology and Cognitive Science of Peking University and the team of UIUC in the United States published a journal entitled "Treat me better, but is it really better?" in the journal Journal of Occupational Health Psychology.
Applying a resource perspective to understanding Leader–Member exchange (LMX), LMX differentiation, and work stress"
.

Based on the perspective of resources, this study proposes that high-quality leader-subordinate exchange relationships provide employees with important work-related resources (e.
g.
, task information, social support), thereby reducing work stress
.
However, due to the differential treatment of different members by leaders, the allocation of work resources is differentiated, which leads to employees' perception of distribution fairness, which in turn weakens the effect of leader-subordinate exchange on work pressure and the beneficial impact
on work-related behaviors.

The study tested and supported the hypothesis
through one laboratory experiment and two field experiments.
Study 1 conducted an on-site survey
of 1,181 employees of 120 teams of a Chinese insurance company at three time points.
Study 2 used the experimental method to recruit 203 American full-time workers as participants online, manipulated the LMX (high, low) and LMX differences (high, low) perceived by employees through the case-initiation method, and tested the interaction between these two factors on work stress
.
Study 3 collected data from 440 U.
S.
participants online to examine the effects of
LMX and LMX differences on work stress, as well as on work initiative and prosocial behavior.

The three studies consistently concluded that LMX differentiation reduced employees' perceptions of distributive equity, and attenuated LMX's effect on job stress reduction and beneficial effects
on work initiative and prosocial behavior.
The findings reveal that LMX's impact on resources is based not only on the quality of an individual's relationship with a leader, but also on the quality of employees' perceived relationships with other colleagues with that leader, suggesting that leaders should be committed to having all employees equal access to adequate work resources
.

Yijue Liang of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the first author of the paper, and Professor Wang Lei is the corresponding author
of the paper.

Full text link: https://doi.
org/10.
1037/ocp0000303

2022-10-12