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Research Paper | Psychology | Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026 | Pages: 748 - 753 | India
Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Employee Depression among Working Professionals in India: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract: The workplace environment plays an important role in employees' psychological well-being, and leadership is one of the organizational factors that may shape employees' experiences of stress, support, and psychological safety. This study examined the relationship between transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles and employee depression among working professionals in India. A quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational research design was adopted. Primary data were collected through an online questionnaire from 60 working professionals recruited using convenience and snowball sampling. Leadership styles were assessed using a researcher-developed questionnaire based on the dimensions of Full Range Leadership Theory, while depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson's product-moment correlation, and multiple linear regression in IBM SPSS Statistics. Transformational leadership showed a significant negative relationship with employee depression (r = -0.328, p = .010), and transactional leadership also showed a significant negative relationship (r = -0.282, p = .029). Laissez-faire leadership demonstrated a significant positive relationship with employee depression (r = .379, p = .003) and was the strongest of the three bivariate associations. The combined regression model was significant, R2 = .167, F(3, 56) = 3.755, p = .016; however, none of the individual leadership styles was a statistically significant independent predictor after the three styles were entered simultaneously. The findings suggest that supportive and structured leadership behaviours are associated with lower reported depressive symptoms, whereas passive leadership is associated with higher reported depressive symptoms. The results highlight the importance of leadership development and psychologically supportive workplace practices while recognizing that the cross-sectional design does not establish causality.
Keywords: Leadership styles, Transformational leadership, Transactional leadership, Laissez-faire leadership, Employee depression, PHQ-9
How to Cite?: Pratiksha Dhar, "Relationship Between Leadership Styles and Employee Depression among Working Professionals in India: A Cross-Sectional Study", Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 748-753, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26811180128, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26811180128