Abusive leadership, psychological well-being, and intention to quit during the COVID-19 pandemic: a moderated mediation analysis among Quebec’s healthcare system workers

PURPOSE: To examine the effects from work-organization conditions, abusive leadership, and their interaction on Quebec healthcare system workers’ psychological well-being and intention to quit during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Mediation and moderated mediation analyses were performed using MPlus software on a sample of 921 Quebec healthcare system workers. RESULTS: Skill utilization, decision authority, social support from co-workers and supervisors, and recognition were associated directly and positively with psychological well-being, while psychological and physical demands were associated directly and negatively with psychological well-being. Skill utilization, irregular work schedule, and recognition were associated directly and negatively with intention to quit, while psychological demands were associated directly and positively with intention to quit. Moreover, the results demonstrated that abusive leadership attenuated the effects from recognition and decision authority on psychological well-being (moderation effects), contributing to greater intention to quit among workers (moderated mediation effects). CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results underline the importance of work-organization conditions and leadership style on healthcare system workers’ psychological health and their intention to quit their jobs during a pandemic. In particular, and given their key role, leaders/managers must be sensitized concerning leadership style and its possible effects on their employees’ psychological well-being and intention to quit. Therefore, training programs should be offered to leaders/managers to prevent adoption of abusive leadership styles. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00420-021-01790-z.