🧠 Journal Summary: Do Assistive Technologies Moderate the Effect of Transformational Leadership

🧠 Journal Summary: Do Assistive Technologies Moderate the Effect of Transformational Leadership on the Workplace Well-Being of Disabled Employees?

Authors: Wided Ragmoun and Abdulaziz Alfalih

Published In: South East European Journal of Economics and Business, Volume 20 (1) 2025

🔍 Study Summary

This study explored how a specific leadership style, called transformational leadership, affects the happiness and health of disabled employees at work. It also looked at whether assistive technologies play a role in this connection. The main goal was to understand this relationship better, especially by collecting information from 319 disabled employees in Saudi Arabia using surveys.

💡 Key Concepts

• Transformational Leadership (TL): This is a leadership style where leaders inspire and motivate their team members to achieve more than they thought possible. They encourage creativity, challenge the status quo, and act as role models.
• Workplace Well-Being: This refers to an employee’s overall happiness, health, and satisfaction in their work environment. The study looked at specific parts like job satisfaction, feeling discriminated against, and the need for recovery after work.
• Assistive Technologies (AT): These are tools or devices that help people with disabilities perform tasks or improve their abilities. Examples include screen readers, specialized keyboards, or mobility aids.
• Moderating Effect: This means that assistive technologies don’t directly cause well-being, but they change (or “moderate”) how strong the relationship is between transformational leadership and well-being. Think of it like a dimmer switch, making the effect brighter or weaker.

📊 Key Insights

• Leadership and Well-Being are Linked: The study found a positive but somewhat limited connection between transformational leadership and the overall well-being of disabled employees.
• Specific Impacts on Well-Being: This positive connection was especially strong for:
  • Job satisfaction: Employees felt happier with their jobs.
  • Perceptions of discrimination: Employees felt less discriminated against.
  • Need for recovery: Employees felt less exhausted and had less need to “recover” from work.
• Assistive Technologies Help: Assistive technologies actually strengthen this positive relationship. They specifically helped by:
  • Increasing satisfaction with using the technology.
  • Increasing how often the technology was used.
• Demographic Factors Matter:
  • Men reported lower well-being than women.
  • Well-being tended to decrease as employees got older.
  • Education level, however, did not seem to affect well-being for disabled employees in this study.

📘 Example Application

Imagine a large tech company with many disabled employees. To improve their workplace well-being, the company could train its managers in transformational leadership skills. This would involve teaching them how to inspire, support, and intellectually stimulate their disabled team members.

At the same time, the company should ensure that employees have access to the most effective assistive technologies for their needs and receive proper training on how to use them. For example, a manager using transformational leadership might empower a visually impaired employee by involving them in strategic decisions, while ensuring they have the latest screen-reading software and accessible workstation setup.

This combined approach, as shown by the study, would lead to higher job satisfaction and a more inclusive environment for the employee.

💬 Comment from Dr. Dwi Suryanto

“This paper offers a crucial perspective, especially relevant for modern workplaces aiming for true inclusivity. It highlights that while inspiring leadership is vital for everyone, for disabled employees, the actual tools they use (assistive technologies) play a powerful role in making that leadership truly effective. It tells us that it’s not just about a leader’s good intentions, but also about providing the practical support that empowers employees with disabilities. This is a clear call for organizations to think about both ‘people skills’ and ‘tech tools’ together when building a supportive environment.”

📌 Takeaway

Transformational leadership positively affects the well-being of disabled employees, and assistive technologies are key to making this effect even stronger. Companies should focus on both developing inspiring leaders and providing effective assistive tools to create truly inclusive and supportive workplaces.