Leaders’ competence and warmth: Their relationships with employees’ well-being and organizational effectiveness

The aim of this work was to investigate competence and warmth — the two basic dimensions of social judgment — as dimensions employees use to evaluate their supervisors. A mediation model was tested in which supervisor’s perceived competence and warmth were associated with relevant outcomes (lower burnout, weaker turnover intentions, more frequent citizenship behaviors) through the mediation of affective organizational commitment (AOC). In Study 1, data were collected from employees of a company in the water service sector. In Study 2, participants were financial promoters. In Study 3, the sample included employees from different organizations. As hypothesized, the perception of one’s supervisor as competent (Studies 1-3) and warm (Study 3) was related to employees’ lower burnout, weaker turnover intentions, more frequent prosocial behaviors through the mediation of AOC. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.