ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Organizational Psychology
This article is part of the Research TopicNurse Fatigue: Investigating Burnout, Health Risks, and Prevention StrategiesView all 29 articles
The effect of perceived relative deprivation in leader-member exchange on flow experience: The serial mediating role of perceived relative deprivation in coworker exchange and job-related anxiety
Provisionally accepted
- 1Inonu Universitesi, Malatya, Türkiye
- 2Sirnak University, Sirnak, Türkiye
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Experiencing flow at work is of great significance as it contributes to various positive organizational outcomes, including productivity, intrinsic motivation, innovation, and job satisfaction. Therefore, it is essential to identify the factors influencing the experience of flow in the workplace. This study examines the impact of perceived relative deprivation in leader-member interactions on flow at work and investigates whether perceived relative deprivation in coworker interactions and job-related anxiety mediate this relationship. Nursing is recognized as one of the fundamental professional groups in the workforce; accordingly, a survey study was conducted with 406 nurses. The findings of the present research indicate that perceived relative deprivation in leader-member interactions does not directly affect flow at work. However, as the perception of perceived relative deprivation in leader-member interactions increases, employees also experience perceived relative deprivation in their interactions with coworkers, leading to heightened job-related anxiety and subsequently lower flow at work. This study contributes to the existing literature by linking perceived relative deprivation and leader-member interactions to the factors that hinder flow at work. Additionally, it offers practical recommendations for managers aiming to prevent perceptions of relative deprivation among employees experiencing low-quality leader-member interactions, thereby fostering greater flow at work.
Keywords: Perceived relative deprivation, Job-related anxiety, Flow at work, leader-member exchange, Coworker exchange
Received: 13 Aug 2025; Accepted: 08 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 SEÇKİN and ÇAĞLIN. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Cahit ÇAĞLIN
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