Engaging Leadership, Job Boredom, and Quiet Quitting: A Scale Adaptation and Mediated Model Testing

This study aims to examine the direct effect of engaging leadership on quiet quitting and to determine whether job boredom plays a mediating role in this effect. The first step in achieving this was to adapt the engaging leadership scale, which had not previously been translated into Turkish. Once the scale met the necessary psychometric criteria, hypothesis testing was conducted. For this purpose, two separate samples in Türkiye were used for the data. Study 1 focused on scale adaptation, collecting data from 167 tourism employees to assess its reliability and validity. Study 2 tested the research model, using data from 144 healthcare employees to examine the proposed hypotheses. The findings confirmed that the engaging leadership scale is suitable for use in Türkiye. The analyses revealed that engaging leadership reduces quiet quitting, both directly and indirectly by decreasing job boredom. In other words, employees who perceive their leaders as engaging are less likely to engage in quiet quitting. Additionally, engaging leadership was found to reduce job boredom, which, in turn, further decreased quiet quitting levels. By identifying two antecedents of quiet quitting—one of the most prevalent issues in today’s organizations—and by emphasizing the critical role of leadership, this study offers valuable insights and practical implications for both organizations and leaders. Alongside these contributions, the study also acknowledges certain limitations, such as collecting data within specific sectors and provinces, and offers recommendations for future research.