Abstract
PurposeThe present study contributes to our understanding of how to curb burnout among hospital staff over time. The authors extend existing research by examining the mediating role of mission valence in the link between transformational leadership and burnout.Design/methodology/approachSelf-administered questionnaire data from employees in a Canadian general hospital (N = 185) were analyzed using a time-lagged research design to examine whether transformational leaders can increase employees' attraction to the organization's mission (i.e. mission valence) and in turn alleviate long-term burnout.FindingsStructural equation modeling analysis demonstrated that transformational leadership (time 1) was negatively related to the burnout components of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (time 2). Further, the results showed that mission valence mediated these relationships.Practical implicationsThe study findings are important for managers and professionals as they identify transformational leadership as a potent strategy to alleviate employee burnout and clarify the process through which this is achieved, namely, by increasing mission valence.Originality/valueTo date, surprisingly little research has explored how transformational leadership influences followers' burnout. To address this issue, the present study examined the role of transformational leadership on staff burnout through the mechanism of increasing mission valence. Understanding how to mitigate burnout is particularly critical in health care organizations given that burnout not only negatively impacts employee wellbeing but also the wellbeing and quality of care provided to patients.
Highlights
Healthcare systems across developed countries are facing serious fiscal sustainability as well as social sustainability challenges (e.g. Mohrman and Shani, 2014)
These cognitive processes, in turn, will impact employee wellbeing. Given that such leaders transform their followers’ values and stimulate them to transcend above immediate self-interest for the greater good of the organization and its goals (Yukl, 1999) by articulating a compelling organizational mission, we argue that the leaderinfluenced job resource of mission valence represents an important mediator in the relationship between transformational leadership and burnout
The results indicate that Hypotheses 3a–b were confirmed, that is, mission valence mediated the effect of transformational leadership on burnout
Summary
Healthcare systems across developed countries are facing serious fiscal sustainability as well as social sustainability challenges (e.g. Mohrman and Shani, 2014). Healthcare systems across developed countries are facing serious fiscal sustainability as well as social sustainability challenges Mohrman and Shani, 2014). Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance Vol 8 No 2, 2021 pp. © Janine Bosak, Steven Kilroy, Denis Ch^enevert and Patrick C. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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