Sensemaking as a bridge between authentic leadership and employee well-being: a multilevel model of work meaningfulness and group empathy

Purpose As employee well-being becomes increasingly critical in the hospitality industry, leadership is recognized as a key driver in fostering positive employee outcomes. Prior studies examining authentic leadership and its influence on well-being largely overlook employees’ cognitive interpretation of leadership behaviors. Referencing sensemaking and conservation of resources (COR) theories, this study aims to propose and test a multilevel model linking authentic leadership with employee well-being, with work meaningfulness acting as a mediator, and group empathy serving as a cross-level moderator. Design/methodology/approach Survey responses from 275 employees nested within 58 leaders across nine Chinese hotels were examined using multilevel modeling. Findings Results suggest that work meaningfulness mediates the link between authentic leadership and employee well-being, highlighting the indirect influence of leadership on well-being outcomes. Furthermore, group empathy functions as a group-level moderator, attenuating the positive linkage between work meaningfulness and employee well-being when empathy within the group is high. Practical implications Hospitality companies should enhance leadership development and empathy training programs to help employees cultivate deeper meaning and purpose in their work, thereby improving overall well-being. Originality/value In addition to offering empirical validation of the beneficial effects of authentic leadership, this study introduces sensemaking theory as a distinct and underutilized framework to explain how authentic leadership shapes employee well-being. Moreover, by integrating sensemaking and COR theories, this study offers a dual-process framework for future research on leadership in group settings.