How are Leader-Member Exchange and Servant Leadership Related to Job burnout? The Mediating Role of Workplace Bullying

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between servant leadership, leader-member exchange (LMX) and burnout in the business and finance sectors. More specifically, we explored the indirect effects of workplace bullying in the relationship between these two kinds of leadership and burnout. A self-reported online employee questionnaire in Hauts de France was filled out by 228 employees from two business sectors. The results showed that servant leadership and LMX were negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Mediation analyses using the Hayes and Preacher (2014) method showed that bullying played a mediating role in the relationship between servant leadership, LMX, and emotional exhaustion. The servant and LMX types of leadership had a significant impact on the prevention of burnout and mobbing, insofar they helped to establish positive relationships and reduce the risk of ill-being.