Destructive Leadership and Emotional Exhaustion: Intervening Effect of Job Stress on Employees’ Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intention

Abstract

The conducted study aimed at investigating relationship between destructive leadership, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, turnover intention and job stress in telecommunication call centers sector in Pakistan. In addition, the study examined the relationship between destructive leadership and emotional exhaustion as an independent variables and dependent variables as job satisfaction and turnover intention moreover it has examined the impact of destructive leadership and emotional exhaustion on job satisfaction and turnover intention further this explored the intervening role of job stress between destructive leadership, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction and turnover intention. The main study was conducted through systematic randomly selected sample of 365 employees working at low level frontline in call centers of ages between 25 and 56 and above belonging to the city of Lahore. Survey method was used to collect data comprising of five sections including the demographic sheet, Destructive leadership behaviors Scale, Singh, Goolsby & Rhoads’ Emotional Exhaustion scale, job stress scale based on anxiety and time pressure during the working hours, general satisfaction scale and turnover intention scale. Correlation analysis exposed the significance and strength of relationships between variables i.e. destructive leadership and job satisfaction (r = -.333, p<0.05), emotional exhaustion and turnover intention (r =.167, p<0.05), job stress and destructive leadership (r =.388, p<0.05). More over multiple regression analysis for Baron & Kenny (1986) steps for mediation analysis was performed. The results showed that job stress fully mediated between emotional exhaustion and turnover intention; partially mediated between destructive leadership and turnover intention. Practical implications, study limitations were discussed and research directions were recommended for future research.