Leader-member Exchange (LMX) quality and follower well-being: A daily diary study.

Guided by Self-determination and Social Exchange theories, we examine how leader-member exchange (LMX) quality impacts follower well-being. Despite LMX relationships being dynamic in nature, the way relationship quality varies over time and its impact on well-being has not been examined in detail. To address this important issue, a daily diary study is reported of employees from a variety of organizations. 158 participants completed a daily diary in the morning and evening for five consecutive workdays (k = 603 observations). Measures included hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, and social and economic LMX exchanges. There was a significant variation of LMX quality over the diary days. Daily LMX quality predicted daily follower well-being (while controlling for morning well-being). Further, for those that interacted with their manager, social LMX exchanges but not economic exchange predicted daily well-being. Interaction characteristics (frequency, time, content) had a relatively small impact on daily well-being. As predicted, work engagement mediated the relation between daily LMX quality and social LMX exchanges and well-being but not daily economic LMX exchanges. The results show how LMX quality affects followers’ well-being that varies daily, that is affected by leaders’ behaviors.