The moderating role of authoritarian leadership on the relationship between the internalization of emotional regulation and the well-being of employees

This study explores whether the internalization of emotional regulation affects well-being and examines further whether authoritarian leadership can moderate the relationship between such internalization of emotional regulation and employee well-being. A total of 271 working adults who were employed by Chinese enterprises in Taiwan participated in this study. All hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analyses. The study showed that controlled emotional regulation through external regulation is significantly negatively associated with such indicators of well-being as mental and physical health, whereas autonomous emotional regulation through integrated regulation is significantly positively associated with such indicators of well-being as mental and physical health. The study also found that authoritarian leadership may moderate the relationship between autonomous emotional regulation through identified or integrated regulation and the well-being indicators.