Does Emotional Intelligence in leaders influence emotional Leadership Styles and Employee Burnout?

Emotional intelligence (EI) has become increasingly crucial in today’s dynamic work environments, where effective leadership and employee well-being are key to organizational success. This dissertation provides new insights on the interrelation of EI, emotional leadership styles, and employee burnout. The study aims to explore how EI in leaders influences the application of emotional leadership styles and how these styles, in turn, impact employee burnout. Following the emotional intelligence theory by Goleman (2019), the resonant leadership theory by Boyatzis and McKee (2005), and the burnout theory by Maslach and Jackson (1981), a total of 169 participants are considered to explore a linear research model after the literature. Results show that EI has a strong positive relationship with resonant leadership styles, which in turn significantly reduce employee burnout, with resonant leadership mediating the relationship between EI and burnout. Additionally, employees under resonant leaders reported significantly lower burnout levels compared to those with dissonant leaders. The findings highlight the importance of fostering EI and resonant leadership within organizations to reduce burnout and promote employee well-being. These results contribute to the growing body of research on emotional leadership and offer practical recommendations for including EI assessments into recruiting strategies and employing leadership development programs. Future research directions are proposed to advance the study of emotional intelligence.