Abstract In this research paper, the relationships among narcissistic and paternalistic leadership on employee job embeddedness are explored; the moderating role of leader induced humiliation in these relationships is also addressed. This study explores both self-centered and paternalistic leadership, to show how narcissistic leadership outcomes can weaken employee stability while supportive leadership may help improve embeddedness. Results show that narcissistic leadership hurts job embeddedness because it negatively correlates with it, while benevolent and moral leadership help it positively since they correlate optimistically with job embeddedness. Along with leaders’ humility, the study examines that humble behaviors reduce the damages of the narcissistic leadership and facilitate employee retention. Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), we find that narcissistic leadership has a significant and negative effect on job embeddedness, whereas authoritarian aspects of paternalistic leadership have a nuanced effect which depends on additional organizational factors. The results highlight that fostering job embeddedness and organizational commitment require leadership that is compatible with employees’ values. By developing leader-induced humiliation as a moderating factor, this research extends current leadership theories, providing practical understanding of management strategy to focus on employee retention during turbulent economic conditions. The results point to potential benefits from developing benevolent and moral leadership approaches over the tradeoffs in narcissistic leadership styles. The novelty of this exploration lies in its integrated approach to examining leadership styles, job embeddedness, and leader-induced humiliation within a single framework, providing valuable insights into retention dynamics within emerging economies.