From Burnout to Breakdown: Examining the Health Consequences of Toxic Leadership in India
Keywords:
Toxic Leadership, Burnout, Job Stress, Resilience, Employee Well-beingAbstract
Toxic leadership is a pervasive issue in modern workplaces, characterised by abusive, authoritarian, and manipulative behaviours that undesirably influence employees' emotional and physical well-being. More specifically, such leaders' impact on two outcomes, i.e., burnout and psychological distress. This paper aims to investigate one important aspect of leadership (job stress) to determine whether it mediates the effect of toxic leaders on these outcomes, and to examine another aspect of leadership (resilience) to find out whether it has a moderating impact. Quantitative research design was adopted for the study, survey was conducted with 500 employees from the IT, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors in India.
The scales used to measure toxic leadership, job stress, resilience, and health outcomes were validated before use. After data collection, data analysis was done using several different techniques, including ANOVA, correlation, and regression. Hypothesis test results found to be interesting. We discovered a robust positive association (that is, they rise and fall together) between toxic leadership and employee health impairment. Next, the research benefits organisational psychology because it illuminates the impact that toxic leadership has not only on the performance of employees but also on their well-being. It offers numerous practical implications for organisations that want to create healthier work environments.
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