AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF LEADERSHIP PRACTICES AND WORK LIFE BALANCE OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN KOREA

The presen research is an empirical study that examined how leadership practice was associated with the work-life balance (WLB) among migrant workers working in the Employment Permit System (EPS) in South Korea. By applying a mixed-method research design, the data were gathered through surveys and qualitative interviews of migrant workers in different industries, such as manufacturing and agriculture. The results reveal that both the transformational and servant styles of leadership have a positive and significant correlational relationship to the better outcomes of WLB. On the contrary, there is no significant or even weak connection between transactional leadership and transactional leadership. Supervisor empathy and supervisor flexibility are found to be the crucial moderating variables that enhance the positive influence of constructive leadership in the investigations. The structural limitations, which pose a significant obstacle to WLB, comprise limitations of mobility on job change, cultural adjustment, and working excessive hours. The research concludes that supportive leadership has the potential to alleviate the negative impact of a demanding structural environment to a large extent. Practical implications are presented, stating that cross-cultural leadership training is required, reforms of organizational policies in order to provide flexibility, and the role of the government involves the enforcement of labor standards and changes of visa policies in order to safeguard the welfare of migrant workers.