ScholarOne - Burnout syndrome and emotional labor in leaders and
subordinates: A dyad analysis
Abstract
Burnout syndrome is considered a chronic response to occupational
stressors present in the work environment. Social interactions can
constitute one of the stressors at work that generate negative feelings
that can trigger a process of contagion of the syndrome among workers in
interdependent relationships. The study aimed to analyze whether
emotional labor (emotional demands, emotional dissonance) at the level
of the leader and subordinate dyad operates together in the
manifestation of burnout syndrome. The participants were 244
leader-subordinate dyads who answered a questionnaire with
sociodemographic and labor data, the Spanish Burnout Inventory, a
subscale of the Questionnaire on the Experience and Assessment of Work,
and a subscale of the Frankfurt Emotion Work. Analyses were performed
using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) through path
analysis. The results indicate that the emotional demands of the leaders
and the emotional dissonance of the subordinates predict the leader’s
burnout syndrome. The Burnout syndrome of subordinates was predicted
only by the emotional demands of subordinates. Organizational actions
are necessary for the better functioning of this dyad, aiming to
mitigate the negative consequences of emotional labor for the worker’s
mental health.