PurposeDrawing upon the job-demands resources and the job demands-control-support model, the authors examined the buffering effect of health-oriented leadership (HoL) in terms of staff care on the relationship between job demands and employee health and job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachCross-sectional data from two studies (N1 = 314 and N2 = 260) were analyzed using moderation analyses.FindingsStudy 1 showed that staff care mitigates the effect of job demands on strain and health complaints. Study 2 found that staff care also buffered the effect of job demands on general health and job satisfaction.Practical implicationsParticularly under high job demands, staff care is an important resource for employees' health and satisfaction. Organizations should promote leaders' staff care.Originality/valueFindings provide further evidence for the beneficial role of leaders in terms of HoL.
