Inclusive leadership, relational energy and family roles: a cross-domain perspective

Purpose Drawing on the work–home resources model, this study examines how and when inclusive leadership influences employees' family role performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a three-wave time-lagged survey from 332 employees in 61 teams, and the hypotheses were tested using multilevel path analysis and the Monte Carlo method. Findings The results indicated that inclusive leadership positively influences employees' relational energy, which in turn enhances their family role performance. Moreover, family role salience strengthens the positive relationship between relational energy and family role performance. Originality/value This study advances inclusive leadership research by highlighting its positive influence beyond the workplace, specifically on employees' family role performance. Grounded in the work–home resources model, it proposes a novel framework explaining how leadership-driven relational energy facilitates cross-domain resource transfer. Moreover, the inclusion of family role salience as a boundary condition enriches our understanding of when such effects are likely to occur.