Toxin Handlers and Burnout Among Human Resource Managers: Does Emotion-Focused Coping Make a Difference?

Abstract

Toxin handlers are a vital constituent for organizations as these individuals tend to absorb disruptive emotions and feelings of other members of staff. However, as they carry this burden, they are prone to emotional exhaustion, which can lead to burnout on personal levels. This is a matter of critical importance for HR managers as they are commonly the ones, who deal with such struggles within a company. This current research addresses the issue of burnout for toxin handlers in the tourism sector with the inclusion of coping strategies as a mediating factor by gathering data from a number of 180 HR managers within tourism and hospitality sector. A multi-group analysis and PLS-SEM approach was used to test the hypothesized model. It was found that female managers exhibited a difference to their male counterparts in handling toxin through emotion-focused coping strategies. Current results have shown that female managers in HR departments perform better in handling charged emotions of employees and provide solutions for their staff. This is while coping strategies can act as a mediating element for toxin handlers to defuse their exhaustion that is accumulated through constant interacting with negative emotions.