Safeguarding Well‐Being Under Exploitative Leaders: The Buffering Effects of Follower Strategies on Perceived Injustice

This study examines the impact of exploitative leadership (EL) on employees' workplace well-being (WWB), elucidating underlying mechanisms and mitigating factors. Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, and the Transactional Theory of Stress (TTS), we explore the mediating role of interactional injustice (IIJ) in the EL-WWB relationship and the moderating effect of managing-your-boss (MYB) strategies. Using a two-wave time-lagged design, data were collected from 263 full-time U.S. employees and analysed via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), supplemented by Importance-Performance Map Analysis (IPMA) and Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA). Results indicate that EL positively relates to IIJ, which in turn negatively affects WWB, establishing IIJ as a full mediator. MYB moderates the EL-IIJ link, weakening it at higher MYB levels, and extends this buffering to the conditional indirect pathway. IPMA underscores IIJ's high negative importance for WWB, while NCA reveals no necessary conditions but highlights MYB's enabling role. These findings advance destructive leadership research by emphasising follower agency in resource conservation and stress appraisal, offering practical insights for enhancing well-being through proactive strategies. Theoretical implications, limitations, and future research directions are discussed.