Becoming a leader with clipped wings: The role of early-career unemployment scarring on future leadership role occupancy

Epitropaki, Olga; Avramidis, Panagiotis

Abstract

Whereas the scarring effects of unemployment on future income, health and well-being are well-documented, little is known about its potential role in future leadership emergence and development. Using data from two cohorts of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79 and NLSY97) and drawing from life course theory, we examine the role of employment gaps in emerging adulthood on leadership role occupancy in middle adulthood. Based on a combined sample of 9,915 respondents (NLSY79 N = 5,551; NLSY97 N = 4,567), we find strong and robust support for significant scarring effects of early-career unemployment on individuals’ future chances to occupy leadership positions in work settings. We further examine the moderating role of early life disadvantage (operationalized as family socio-economic status and childhood delinquency) and sex. Based on our main and supplementary analyses, we find some but weak support for these interaction effects. Our results based on complete case analyses support the role of early life disadvantage, showing that individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds experience stronger negative effects on leader role occupancy due to employment gaps in emerging adulthood. They further support the moderating role of sex, showing women to experience more adverse effects. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Citation

Epitropaki, O., & Avramidis, P. (2024). Becoming a leader with clipped wings: The role of early-career unemployment scarring on future leadership role occupancy. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(4), Article 101786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2024.101786

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 4, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Apr 11, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-08
• Deposit Date: Apr 16, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 17, 2024
• Journal: The Leadership Quarterly
• Print ISSN: 1048-9843
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 35
• Issue: 4
• Article Number: 101786
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2024.101786
• Keywords: Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management; Sociology and Political Science; Applied Psychology; Business and International Management
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2385417