Authentic leadership and workplace deviance: a relationship-building approach combining follower hope and leader humor

Purpose This study aims to understand how authentic leadership reduces employee workplace deviance by examining the mediating role of followers’ hope and the moderating role of leader humor in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The research utilizes a two-phase, time-lagged self-report survey from 357 full-time US employees to collect data on authentic leadership, hope, leader humor and workplace deviance, analyzed using the PROCESS macro. Findings We found that authentic leadership significantly decreased workplace deviance through the mediation of followers’ hope (Indirect effect = −0.03, 95% CI [−0.05, −0.01]), and this positive relationship between authentic leadership and hope was strengthened when leader humor was high (β = 0.1, p < 0.05). Practical implications Organizations should consider relational transparency between leaders and followers, as this fosters employee hope which, in turn, significantly reduces workplace deviance. Also, promoting leader humor is crucial, as it inspires employees’ higher level of hope. Social implications Workplace deviance behaviors can be attenuated by leaders’ attention to relational aspects with employees, especially encouraging employees’ positive mindset (hope), facilitated by leader humor. Originality/value The study provides substantial contributions by examining leadership from a relationship-building aspect, particularly by introducing hope as a crucial mediator and identifying leader humor as a novel contingency factor in the authentic leadership-hope-deviance dynamic.