The Double-Edge Sword Effects of Leader Stress Bragging on Employee Deviance

With the shift in the perception of stress among the younger generation, the phenomenon of stress bragging has become more prevalent in the workplace. While existing research has examined the transmission of stress bragging among peers and its negative consequences, the impact of leader stress bragging on subordinates' emotions, cognition, and behavior remains underexplored. Drawing on attribution theory, this study introduces relational energy and task reflexivity as mediating variables from the perspectives of impression management and performance improvement attribution, aiming to investigate the dual mechanism through which leader stress bragging influences employees' deviance. Based on two waves of survey data from 337 Chinese employees, the results show that leader stress bragging reduces employees' relational energy, which in turn increases deviant behavior; while leader stress bragging also stimulates task reflexivity, which in turn decreases deviant behavior. Additionally, leader-member exchange (LMX) moderates both pathways: negatively moderating the indirect effect of relational energy on deviant behavior and positively moderating the indirect effect of task reflexivity on deviant behavior. This study enhances the understanding of vertical stress transmission and provides valuable insights into the dual effects of leader stress bragging, offering practical implications for effective organizational stress management.