Abstract
Employees have suffered as a result of bad organisational practices, and they now perceive the workplace as unfriendly. In recent years, there has been an upsurge in the search for a remedy for this. This study looks at the impact of paradoxical leadership, which is beneficial when it takes a two-way approach to leadership. This study investigated the link that exists between paradoxical leadership styles and workers using the Theory of Social Exchange. In California, USA, 200 surveys were collected from restaurant staff. We examined the data using structural equation modeling to hypothesise linkages. It was shown that paradoxical leadership had a negative association with job insecurity, amotivation, and organisational tolerance for workplace incivility, while having a favorable relationship with employee psychological safety. Job insecurity, on the other hand, partially and fully mediates the link. The findings have implications for managers and the organisation overall. This is the first study that tries to investigate this relationship in the restaurant industry using paradoxical leadership and incivility.