"Let's stick together": toward a serial mediation model about the impact of relational leadership on workers' employability

PurposeThis paper explores whether relational leadership enhances nurses' employability. An empirical study was conducted to investigate associations between relational leadership, perceived supervisory support, perceived opportunities for competence development and employability.Design/methodology/approachA serial mediation model was constructed to investigate our hypothesized relationships. We applied a two-wave panel design and collected self-reported survey data from 109 nurses who worked in a Dutch homecare organization. Relationships were tested using PLS-SEM.FindingsOur findings suggest no direct association between relational leadership and employability. However, we found support for a serial mediation model, in which perceived supervisory support and perceived opportunities for competence development fully mediated the relationship between relational leadership and employability.Research limitations/implicationsThis scholarly work contributes to the employability literature; a supervisor who fosters high-quality relationships with nurses communicates a willingness to support their development and provides them competence development opportunities, which, in turn, fosters nurses' employability.Practical implicationsHR managers and supervisors in homecare organizations should create leadership development policies and practices that encourage relational leadership, particularly empowering leadership.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, up until now, this study is the first to use supervisors' relational leadership to predict employees' employability.