Employee Burnout and Destructive Leadership in Toxic Workplaces

Abstract

This systematic review investigates the direct and indirect mechanisms through which destructive leadership accelerates chronic employee burnout within contemporary work environments. Integrating the Job Demands-Resources model, Conservation of Resources theory, and Social Exchange Theory, this review synthesizes peer-reviewed empirical literature to delineate how hostile managerial typologies, including abusive supervision, petty tyranny, and narcissistic leadership, function as relentless psychosocial demands that deplete employees' cognitive and emotional reserves. Following PRISMA guidelines, the synthesis examines empirical studies to clarify the pathways linking supervisory misconduct to the core burnout dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. The findings demonstrate that toxic behaviors such as public humiliation, arbitrary control, and gaslighting induce chronic hyper-vigilance and impede psychological recovery. This destructive trajectory is heavily mediated by the systematic erosion of psychological safety and the collapse of organizational trust, leading to profound psychological contract breaches. Consequently, affected employees frequently exhibit defensive coping and withdrawal behaviors, including quiet quitting, counterproductive work behaviors, and increased turnover intentions. While personal psychological capital, cognitive reappraisal, and peer solidarity serve as vital moderating buffers, they cannot substitute for systemic institutional safeguards. Ultimately, this review reframes burnout not as an individual coping failure, but as an organizational outcome of toxic leadership. To effectively counter this dynamic, organizations must move beyond reactive wellness programs and implement proactive governance, such as multi-tiered leadership screening, continuous 360-degree evaluations, and independent reporting channels that safeguard employee well-being.