The moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between transformational leadership and burnout syndrome

Abstract

Over the years, it has become clear that the success of companies is directly proportional to the perceived success of the people who work there, and that demotivated people can lead a company to failure. These conclusions have increased interest in the development of studies related to management, leadership and, more recently, the emotional intelligence and mental health of employees and leaders, given the preponderant role they play in the success and, consequently, the value of companies. We therefore considered it pertinent to study the relationship between these three variables: transformational leadership, emotional intelligence and burnout syndrome. The main focus of this study was to develop a quantitative analysis that would allow us to assess the level of emotional intelligence of employees, their perception of the transformational characteristics of their leaders and their level of burnout. More specifically, this study aimed to analyze the moderating effect of emotional intelligence on the relationship between transformational leadership and burnout. To this end, three questionnaires (Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Emotional Intelligence Scale and Global Transformational Leadership) were compiled and applied to a valid sample of 233 people, made up of men and women from different age groups and personal and professional backgrounds. Through this analysis, it can be concluded that both the transformational leadership and emotional intelligence variables have a negative relationship with burnout, which means that people led by transformational leaders and people with higher levels of emotional intelligence tend to have lower levels of burnout. However, when studying the moderating effect, it was found that emotional intelligence, despite being proven in the literature to be an influencing factor, does not moderate the relationship between the other two variables. Despite the limitations presented in the conclusion of this study, we were able to establish a relationship between the variables and conclude that some demographic and professional characteristics, such as gender and the working hours, have an impact on the levels of burnout shown by the employees. That said, we believe that it’s increasingly pertinent to study variables related to work and mental health in greater depth. Bearing in mind that work takes up a large part of most people's lives, it’s important to study ways and methods of reducing the negative consequences it can have in the long term, particularly psychological disorders caused by exhaustion and stress, often amplified by unhealthy working environments and poor leadership. Therefore, in a society that is increasingly developed and oriented towards the labor market, with increasingly younger workers, it is extremely important not only to develop and train good leaders, but also to alert and educate the general population about mental health as a tool to achieve professional success. This dissertation aims to encourage and inspire future research into the study of this topic, particularly into other possible causes and factors that could moderate this relationship, always with the aim of finding factors that reduce the level of burnout among employees.

Ao longo dos anos, tornou-se evidente que o sucesso das empresas é diretamente proporcional à perceção de sucesso das pessoas que nelas trabalham, e que pessoas desmotivadas podem levar uma empresa ao fracasso. Estas conclusões têm aumentado o interesse no desenvolvimento de estudos relacionados com a gestão, a liderança e, mais recentemente, com a inteligência emocional e a saúde mental dos colaboradores e líderes, dado o papel preponderante que desempenham no sucesso e, consequentemente, no valor das empresas. Assim, considerámos pertinente estudar a relação entre estas três variáveis: liderança transformacional, inteligência emocional e síndrome de burnout. Mais especificamente, este estudo teve como objetivo analisar o efeito moderador da inteligência emocional na relação entre a liderança transformacional e o burnout. Através desta análise, pode concluir-se que tanto a variável liderança transformacional como a variável inteligência emocional têm uma relação negativa com o burnout, o que significa que pessoas lideradas por líderes transformacionais e pessoas com níveis mais elevados de inteligência emocional tendem a ter níveis mais baixos de burnout. No entanto, ao estudar o efeito moderador, verificou-se que a inteligência emocional, apesar de estar comprovada na literatura como um fator influenciador, não modera a relação entre as outras duas variáveis. Posto isto, consideramos que é cada vez mais pertinente aprofundar o estudo de variáveis relacionadas com o trabalho e a saúde mental. Tendo em conta que o trabalho ocupa uma grande parte da vida da maioria das pessoas, é importante estudar formas e métodos de reduzir as consequências negativas que este pode ter a longo prazo, nomeadamente as perturbações psicológicas causadas pela exaustão e pelo stress, muitas vezes amplificadas por ambientes de trabalho pouco saudáveis e por uma liderança deficiente. Assim, numa sociedade cada vez mais desenvolvida e orientada para o mercado de trabalho, com trabalhadores cada vez mais jovens, é de extrema importância não só desenvolver e formar bons líderes, mas também alertar e educar a população em geral para a saúde mental como ferramenta para alcançar o sucesso profissional.