Role of authentic leadership in enhancing employees' voice behavior through psychological capital during COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeConsidering the importance of employees' voice behavior (VB) and psychological capital (PC) amidst the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), this study highlights the role of authentic leadership (AL) in building a psychologically strong workforce that can provide meaningful suggestions for the improvement of organization.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a questionnaire survey to collect the data and recruited 261 participants from the telecom sector Sindh, Pakistan. The data analysis was done using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe findings of the study supported the hypotheses suggesting that AL can directly influence employees' VB and indirectly via PC.Originality/valueThe study was conducted during the COVID-19 in the telecom sector of Sindh, Pakistan. This study contributes by providing useful insights into that AL is an important form of leadership that encourages employees' voluntary behavior and psychological strength during the COVID-19 pandemic.