Boosting Work Engagement through Leader Tolerance: The Chain Mediation Role of Perceived Organizational Support and Organizational Identification

Yuan ZHANG ^1* Jingqun Zhang ¹ Kui Hao ²

• ¹ Zhuhai College of Science and Techology, Zhuhai, China
• ² Zaozhuang Municipal Hospital, Zaozhuang, China

To enhance competitiveness, numerous organizations have introduced control and penalty systems to manage employee work errors. However, these systems have often backfired, negatively impacting employees’ emotions and behaviors. Recognizing the critical role of leadership in error management, this study examines how leaders’ tolerance of their followers’ mistakes influences employees’ work engagement, drawing on Affective Events Theory (AET). Analyzing data from 435 front-line public health service staff, we found that leader tolerance significantly boosts employees’ work engagement. Furthermore, our results confirm the mediating roles of perceived organizational support (POS) and organizational identification in this relationship. This study also validates the hypothesized chain mediation model, demonstrating how POS and organizational identification together mediate the influence of leader tolerance on employees’ work engagement. These results underscore the importance of leadership styles that accommodate employees’ errors and emphasize the crucial roles of organizational support and identification before stating the theoretical and practical implications, along with recommendations for future research on leader tolerance.