Power to perform or to delay? Job insecurity moderates the effects of empowering leadership on work procrastination

Past research suggested that empowering leadership may decrease work procrastination and highlighted perceived job insecurity as detrimental to employee attitudes and behaviors. The present study examined the relationship between empowering leadership and workplace procrastination, and the moderating effects of perceived job security controlling for other leadership styles and work-related variables that were previously found to be linked with procrastination. The results indicated that the negative effect of empowering leadership on procrastination emerged only in employees with moderate job security. Oppositely, in those with low job security, empowering leadership was associated with higher procrastination. Finally, no significant association emerged between empowering leadership and procrastination in the high job security group. These findings extend current knowledge on the influences of empowering leadership by highlighting job security as a critical factor of the effects of this leadership style on work procrastination.