The relationships between leadership style and employee burnout : with the mediating role of intention to quit

The relationships between leadership style and employee

burnout

With the mediating role of intention to quit

Annuschka Mahamoed

University of Amsterdam

Page | 2 Amsterdam, 26 January 2015

This document is written by student Annuschka Mahamoed (10443096) who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.

First reader:

Dr. ir. B.A.C. (Bianca) Groen

Faculty of Economics and Business, specialization Accounting

Second reader:

Dr. ir. S.P. (Sander) van Triest

Faculty of Economics and Business, specialization Accounting

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A

This study has attempted to increase the knowledge whether the leadership style of a manager could have an influence on employee burnout. This is done by exploring the direct and indirect effects influencing employee burnout. Particular attention is set on the transformational and transactional leadership style. Within this study several hypotheses were tested by using a survey study in the form of a questionnaire. This questionnaire is filled in by 104 employees of a Big 4 Auditing firm in the Netherlands. The results of the regression analysis show that the transformational leadership style of a manager reduces the intention to quit by employees. Furthermore, that the intention to quit is seen as a mediator influencing employee burnout.

Keywords: transformational leadership, transactional leadership, job resources, job demands, intention to quit, burnout.

A

This research was supported by a Big 4 audit firm. Special acknowledgement to the employees who participated by filling in the online questionnaire. Moreover, special thanks to the first supervisor of the research, Dr. ir. B.A.C. Groen with her continuous feedback and Dr. ir. S.P. (Sander) van Triest for his role as second supervisor.

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1. Introduction ... 5 2. Literature review... 8

2.1 Theoretical background: leadership 8 2.1.1 Transactional-transformational leadership 10 2.2 Job demands-resources model 11

2.3 Burnout 13

2.3.1 Transactional-transformational leadership and burnout 15

2.4 Intention to quit 16

2.4.1 Transactional-transformational leadership and the intention to quit 16 2.4.2 Burnout and the intention to quit 17

3. Research method ... 19 3.1 Sample 19 3.2 Data collection 19 3.3 Data analyses 21 4. Results ... 22 4.1 Descriptive statistics 24

4.2 Transactional leadership and burnout 24 4.3 Transformational leadership and burnout 25 4.4 Transactional leadership and intention to quit 25 4.5 Transformational leadership and intention to quit 25 4.6 Burnout and intention to quit 26

5. Discussion ... 27

5.1 Discussion 27

5.2 Theoretical implications 28

5.3 Practical implications 29

5.4 Limitations and future research 29

5.5 Conclusion 30

References ... 32 Appendix A ... 39 Appendix B ... 43

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1. I

The above citation, is from an internal letter of a Big 4 audit firm in the Netherlands where this study is conducted. The employees of this firm experienced pressure. When employees experience pressure occurs stress. Stress is seen as a precondition of employee burnout (Maslach, 1982). When employees facing stress they are less able to perform. Employees in audit organization are known to have a high intention to quit (Hasin & Omar, 2007). Which role does a coaching leadership style play in this? This study will examine the direct impact of the managers leadership style in relation to obtain employee burnout during a change situation, and the mediating role of intention to quit.

Leadership plays a vital role in achieving collective change (Yukl, 2009). Leadership can be classified in different leadership styles. Often a distinction is made between transactional and transformational leadership. Transactional Leadership is based on a simple exchange between the leader and his followers of reward for applied effort. Transactional leaders are keeping their followers productive. These leaders use disciplinary power and incentives to motivate employees to perform at their best. Transactional refers to the leader who motivates subordinates by exchanging rewards for performance (Bass & Avolio, 1991). These managers are concerned with routine jobs and make sure everything flows smoothly each day. A transformational leader goes beyond managing daily operations by developing strategies for

“This audit season will be one of the most turbulent in the history. Our quality lies under a magnifying glass - the demand to improve our audit quality is more urgent than ever. At the same time, we are changing from customers and within teams. This is due to new rules of rotation resulting from the WTA and the ViO. Furthermore many hours will go to proposals. The paradox is that proposals that we win, leads to first year audits that require a more than average effort from us”.

”We can achieve good quality only as a team. Therefore managers will spend substantially more time with audit teams; time spent on quality and coaching on the job. These times ask for involved managers throughout the audit”.

”I fully realize that these turbulent times demands a lot from you. How do we keep it even fun, is a frequently asked question. A question I also suggest me personally. The feeling that rules seem to prevail, leads the professional space is perceived as too limited."

Page | 6 their company or work project to perform above expectations. A transformational leader

works as a motivator by empowering subordinates. The transformational leader sets goals and incentives at a personal level to perform above expectations and to let the individual professional grow on a personal level (Bass & Avolio, 1991; Brymann, 1992). The transformational leader has an idealized influence, intellectually stimulates and considers subordinates individually. The transformational leadership style is seen as the most effective form of leadership (Tims, Bakker, & Xanthopou, 2011). Since transformational leadership is positively related to many important organizational outcomes (Tims, Bakker, & Xanthopou, 2011; Bass & Avolio, 1991).

This study will measure the effect from de managers leadership style in relation to obtaining employee burnout. A burnout is characterized as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among people who do people work of some kind. Emotional exhaustion refers to feelings of being overextended and exhausted refers to feelings of one’s work” (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001). Little attention has been obtained about which role the leadership style of a manager could have in reducing employee burnout (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001). In some research the transformational leadership style reduces employee burnout, however no clear and compelling study have shown a relationship between transactional leadership and the effects on employee burnout (Kamariah, Wafa, Tajammal, & Syed, 2011). We determine the role of the managers leadership style on employee burnout, this will be our theoretical value in this study.

The aim of this study is to get further insight regarding the impact of the leadership style of a manager and the mediation effect of subordinate’s intention to quit. Studies indicate that turnover intentions are an outcome of stress and burnout (Kemery, Bedeian, & Mossholder, 1985; Williams, Konrad, & Scheckler, 2001). This means that employee burnout is an important factor which could lead to higher intention to quit. On the opposite side, recent studies mention the intention to quit as a stressor that predicts employee burnout (Dai, Collins, Yu, & Fu, 2008; Himle, Srinika, & Thyness, 1986; Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986). According to the study of Jackson et al. (1986) the intention to quit is an identifiable and important phenomenon related to employee burnout (Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986). For this reason, this study should provide empirical evidence that the intention to quit is a precondition of employee burnout.

For this research survey data is collected among employees within an Big 4 accounting firm in the Netherlands. The subordinates of the manager will fill-in a questionnaire (see

Page | 7 Appendix A) about their supervisor, their job demands and available resources within the

accounting firm.

This study entails a relatively new topic in accounting. Accounting firms are known to have a high intention to quit rate (Boselie & van der Wiele, 2002). Due to the costs in terms of health and organizational consequences it is important to conduct this study in this environment (Cherniss, 1995). Most research regarding auditing firms deal with tenure, size and the quality of disclosure (Johnson, Khurana, & Reynolds, 2002; Francis & Yu, 2009). But there are no studies in accounting which cover the role of the manager during change. This research will therefore attempt to contribute to the many existing scientific literature about leadership style in large companies for preventing the intention to quit and burnout in accounting firms.

This study is structured as follows. Chapter 2 portrays an first an empirical model, which will be tested in this study. Subsequently, all relevant theories will be described. The research method is presented in Chapter 3. The sample is explained and how the survey data is collected and analyzed. Chapter 4 presents the obtained survey results. Chapter 5 addresses the discussion. Subsequently, the limitations of this study and further suggestions given for further research. The report will conclude with the reference list.

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2. L

The literature review discusses the main theories for this research. First there will be a clarification on the concept of leadership, consisting transformational and transactional leadership. We further discuss the Job Demands-Resources model. This theoretical model can be used for determining burnout. Burnout will also be examined in depth within the literature review. Finally the intention to quit and the relationship with burnout is threaded. The main concepts come together in a theoretical model, see Figure 1. The most important relationships between these concepts and the hypotheses are shown. Intention to quit can be seen as a mediator between leadership style and burnout.

Figure 1. Theoretical model

2.1 T

:

What is the definition of a leader? What makes a leader successful in terms of (re)vitalizing an organization, where he creates a place where people want to contribute their best (Sashkin, 1993). People assumed that the secret of leadership was attributable to unidentified natural-born characteristics. This assumption has been knocked down by the study of Stogdill, he found no clear evidence that leaders are evidently different from non-leaders (1950). As a result of this research the focus of researchers within the theories of change has moved to personality characteristics of leaders (Sashkin, 1993; Fedor, Herold, & Caldwell, 2006) .

Leadership theories are rejuvenated several times from 1970. However all these theories share a common acknowledgment: “leadership is a perceptual phenomenon” (King, 1990). Leadership perspectives concerned with the charismatic (Conger & Kanungo, 1987;

Burnout Leadership style Intention to quit H2a + H2b - H1a + H1b - H3a +

Page | 9 House, Spangler, & Woycke, 1991), transformational (Bass & Avolio, 1991) and visionary

(Conger & Kanungo, 1987) leadership theories focus on the perceptual processes. A “natural born” leader could develop characteristics during life, by naturally falling into leadership at a younger age playing leadership roles at school, or a sports team; assuming team leader roles and having the ability to empower and motivate others. Social ability, self-confidence, assertiveness and boldness are seen as some characteristics of natural born leaders (Conger & Kanungo, 1987). Social ability concerns with natural people skills (Kessler, Price, & Wortman, 1985). Natural leaders are more extrovert, outgoing, understanding, generous and sympathetic towards others. Natural leaders easily connect with others. Self-confidence is the characteristic of all natural leaders that drives social ability and the courage to take on new and high risk challenges and changes (House, Spangler, & Woycke, 1991; Conger & Kanungo, 1987).

Leading change is a key aspect of leadership, some could even argue a defining aspect of leadership (Van Knippenberg, Van Knippenberg, & Bobbio, 2007). For achieving collective change, leadership takes a vital role for managing followers to contribute to the change process (Conger & Kanungo, 1987; Bass & Avolio, 1991). The change process starts with the communication of a vision, where the leader spells to act towards a desired situation towards his followers (Bass & Avolio, 1991; Conger & Kanungo, 1987; Holladay & Coombs, 1993). By expressing a vision followers could identify with the presumed change a leader expresses. Within companies the formulation of a vision could contribute, motivating followers to work towards goals (Conger & Kanungo, 1987; Kirkpatrick & Locke, 1996).

Organizational change begins at the personal level, the individual needs to break down uncertainty and surrender control (Markus & Robey, 1988). Changes are necessary to stay competitive, profitable and efficient. Empowering leaders are those leaders who can achieve real change in organizations, they have the courage to change (Fiol, 2002). Empowerment is the feeling that followers can make a difference to enact towards the vision (Conger & Kanungo, 1987) and have confidence in their own capabilities. For achieving change leaders need to take serious risks, however they are willing to take this risk because it is the correct thing to do (Fiol, 2002). The greater the individual risk of the leader, the higher the trust, satisfaction and esteem subordinates hold for their leader (Conger & Kanungo, 1987). To take uncertainty away and for realizing action, these previous steps are a requirement for achieving collective change. (Conger & Kanungo, 1987; Fiol, 2002; Awamleh & Gardner, 1999).

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2.1.1

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The most common distinction in managing leadership, is the distinction between transactional leadership and transformational leadership (Bass, Avolio, & Jung, 1999). This distinction is introduced by Burns (1978). According to Burns transformational leadership entails a broader range of leadership behaviour than the transactional leadership (Vera & Crossan, 2004; Bass & Avolio, 1991). Transactional leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on the transactions between leaders and their followers (Bass & Avolio, 1991). Transformational leadership, on the other hand, is a leadership style which causes change in individuals (Bass & Avolio, 1991; Vera & Crossan, 2004). Understanding the difference between transactional and transformational leadership is vital in getting the concept of transformational leadership theory (Bass & Avolio, 1991).

Transactional leadership focuses on a result-oriented style of leading (Sarros & Santora, 2001). Transactional leadership style is very useful when the organization is in a stable position and the learning objectives aim “to refine and restore balance” (Bucic, Robinson, & Ramburuth, 2010). Transactional leaders manage teams by means of social exchange; they offer financial rewards for productivity or deny benefits for the lack thereof. According to Burns (1978) this exchange process between leader and subordinate exists of three components: contingent reward (based on performance) “active management-by-exception” (controlling performance errors and immediately restore/ fix them) and “passive management-by-exception” (wait for errors before action is taken). The transactional leadership style is not about deeper relationships with subordinate for achieving a higher goals (Burns, 1978).

Leadership theories reveal that transformational leadership starts with communicating the vision (Baum, Locke, & Kirckpatrick, 1998; Westley & Mintzberg, 1989). The vision is defined as an ideal that represents the shared values to which the organization should aspire, it is “an ideal and unique image of the future” (McClelland & Burnham, 1976). In the entrepreneurship and business strategy literatures, the importance of the communication of the vision and its effects on organization-level performance has been stressed in theoretical discussions as well as in empirical research. According to Bass (1985) transformational leadership, is defined as a process in which a leader tries to increase followers’ awareness of what is right and important. Transformational leadership recognizes individual talents and builds team-task enthusiasm with emotions, values and beliefs. Transformational leadership

Page | 11 tries to motivate followers to perform beyond expectation (Bass & Avolio, 1991; Yukl, 2009).

Transformational leaders usually display their behaviours associated with four characteristics; 1. Idealized Influence, this is when a leader is being a role model for his subordinates. The leader empowers followers to share a common vision and work towards common goals by expressing a clear vision. 2. Inspirational motivation, this occurs when a manager tries to definite the importance of goals in simple ways. The manager communicates his expectations and the managers provides followers’ with tasks that are meaningful and challenging. 3. Managers aims to intellectually stimulate followers for bringing out ideas for problems. 4. finally individual consideration concerns with the time teaching and coaching followers by treating followers based by individual characteristics (Bass & Avolio, 1991; Bass, Avolio, & Jung, 1999).

Transactional leadership has not only positive effects in an organization. Transactional leadership motivates followers by appealing to their own self-interest. Its principles are to motivate by the exchange process. This leads to transactional leadership having a positive impact on 'perceived fairness, trust in the leader and role clarity (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, & Bommer, 1996). However transactional leadership has a negative effect on absenteeism among employees, it limits enthusiasm and no positive effects are found in the self-development of employees (Judge & Piccolo, 2004). Furthermore Rowold & Schlotz (2009) indicate that one aspect of transactional leadership - management-by-exception passive - was positively associated with indicators of chronic stress. Management-by-exception passive enhances chronic stress, most likely because managers exclusively intervene if standards are not met or if errors are detected. In this case only negative feedback will be provided to employee, leading to dissatisfaction and other aspects of chronic stress (Rowold & Schlotz, 2009; Lerner, et al., 2004). According to a study of Himle et al. (1986) emotional support from supervisors was interrelated with job satisfactions, lower levels of work stress and employee burnout (Himle, Srinika, & Thyness, 1986).

2.2

J

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The Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R model) is a theoretical model which is develop in the late 90’s by Bakker, Demourati and Schaufeli (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). The JD-R model is now an internationally recognized model which is tested in the following European countries; Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. The model is used as a tool by human resource management. The

Page | 12 JD-R model determines the strengths and weaknesses of individuals, workgroups,

departments and organization (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001). Besides that the model can also be used for factors influencing organizational performance such as employee engagement and employee burnout. The model states that two processes play an important role in predicting work engagement or burnout, namely job resources and job demands (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001).

Job demands are described by Demerouti et al. (2001) as “those physical, social, or organizational aspects of the job that require sustained physical or mental effort and are therefore associated with certain physiological and psychological costs. For instance work pressure, heavy lifting, interpersonal conflict and job insecurity. Work requirements are not necessarily stressful, however, when efforts meet the requirements and the recovery time is insufficient, work requirements could be an influence of stress. (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001).

Job resources are seen as sources of energy. Job resources are defined as “those physical, social, or organizational aspects of the job that may do any of the following: (a) be functional in achieving work goals; (b) reduce job demands and the associated physiological and psychological costs; (c) stimulate personal growth and development” (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). Within an organization this could include feedback and social support. Previous studies have shown that job resources (Bakker, Tuckey, & Dollard, 2012) is an important motivational potential for work engagement.

These two contra dictionary processes play a role in the development of job strain or motivation. Exhaustion, this process takes place when poorly designed jobs or chronic job demands exhaust the employee on both the mental as well as the physical element. Once this occurs this might lead to the depletion of energy and to severe interpersonal problems (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001). On the opposite side, the motivational process could occur when job resources exert their motivating potential. This could lead to high work engagement, low cynicism, and excellent performance. Job resources could play either an intrinsic or an extrinsic motivational role (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001). The JD-R model assumes that whereas every occupation may have its own specific working characteristics, these characteristics can be classified in two general categories (job demands and job resources). Virtually all models on occupational health and well-being focus exclusively on job stress and the resulting strain, thereby neglecting the potentially positive effects of work such as engagement (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Rhenen, 2009). The JD-R model emphasises the unique role of job resources as main predictors of

Page | 13 motivation/learning-related outcomes. The JD-R model tries to explain the negative (burnout)

as well as positive (work engagement) aspects of well-being by linking it to a strain (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001; Schaufeli, Bakker, & Rhenen, 2009). Findings support the general notion that burnout is a response to work overload. Within this change situation a higher degree of audit quality is demanded from the employees of the “Big 4” audit firm. Quantitative job demands have been studied by many burnout researchers, the findings support the general notion that burnout is a response to work overload. According to Maslach (1982) time pressure is consistently related to burnout, particularly with the exhaustion dimension of employee burnout (Maslach & Leiter, 2001).

2.3

B

Burnout was initially a vague concept there was no description of it, although there was a diversity of opinions about what it was and what could be done about burnout (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). As a consequence, several different people used the term burnout to mean very different things, so there was not always a basis for constructive communication about this issue nor were there solutions for treatment (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). Maslach (1982) developed a model were the three core dimensions of the burnout experience came together. This model is still is the predominant one in the burnout field (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001).

A burnout is characterized as “a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among people who do people work of some kind. Emotional exhaustion refers to feelings of being overextended and exhausted refers to feelings of one’s work” (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001). Depersonalization is an anomaly of self-awareness. It contains of a feeling of watching oneself act, while having no control over a particular situation. At last reduce personal accomplishment concerns with that one is no longer effective in working with recipients, achieving goals and fulfilling job responsibilities (Maslach, 1982).

Maslach (2001) describes three dimensions of burnout; exhaustion, cynicism and ineffectiveness. Exhaustion is the most widely reported and is analysed comprehensively. The strong identification of exhaustion with burnout has led some to argue that the other two aspects of the syndrome are incidental or unnecessary (Shirom, 1989). Yet, the fact that exhaustion is an essential condition for burnout does not mean it is sufficient. If looking at burnout out of context and focussing on the individual exhaustion component, one would lose

Page | 14 sight of the entire phenomenon of burnout (Shirom, 1989). Studies indicate that those in the

serving professions are most at risk for burnout (Cherniss, 1995; Maslach & Leiter, 2001) One of the characteristics of service professions is that the employees have daily interactions with people, both employees as well as clients. The exhaust dimension of burnout reflects with the stress one is facing. However, exhaustion is not something that is easily experienced or recognized. To cope with workloads, one is taking distance emotionally and cognitively (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). Maslach states that job demands are better manageable when they are considered as “impersonal objects of one’s work” (Maslach, 1982; Leiter & Maslach, 2001). When people are exhausted or are depressed from work they develop a distance or a cynical attitude towards others. Distancing leads to depersonalization which is affects burnout (Maslach, 1982). The third dimension, ineffectiveness, which deals with the reduced personal accomplishment is harder to define. Lee & Ashforth (1996) say that this “appears to be a function, to some degree, of either exhaustion, cynicism, or a combination of the two” (Lee & Ashforth, 1996). Within a situation at work with are huge demands where exhaustion or cynicism is likely to occur, it is in line with expectations that the effectiveness of one will be affected. Moreover it is hard to gain a sense of accomplishment when feeling exhausted (Lee & Ashforth, 1996). Concluding: The absence of efficacy seems to arise due to a lack of relevant job resources, whereas exhaustion and cynicism rise from the presence of work overload and social conflicts (Demerouti, Nachreiner, Bakker, & Schaufeli, 2001).

There are several negative effects concerning burnout. The performance of employees is key for business. Hence, the quality of employees is detrimental to an organization. Hiring and training new employees is an extra cost for an organization, not only due to an increase in training expenses, but also in structuring relationships with other employees in the organization. The organization should realize that an environment which promotes burnout, more frequently needs to hire and train employees. ‘Some burnout sufferers stay on the job for various personal, financial, or geographic reasons” (Harris, James, & Boonthanom, 2005). Subordinates who involuntarily stay in position instead of leaving the organization, are also negatively influencing the organization; “working to minimum standards, coming in late to avoid the situation, and withdrawing from others” (Harris, James, & Boonthanom, 2005). Burnout could affect the most innovative and productive employees causing poor performance, carelessness, and ambivalence at work. Moreover burnout is related to health problems. Eventually, people give up on the situation that caused their condition and they withdraw or actually quit their job (Harris, James, & Boonthanom, 2005).

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2.3.1

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The JD-R model assumes that the presence of resources at work leads to inspiration, motivation and a positive attitude; an absence of resources leads to the exhaustion component if burnout (feeling of exhaustion). Some examples of job resources are: intrinsic motivation, empowerment, daily coaching, social support from the manager, social support from colleagues, social support from the private environment, autonomy (self-determination), feedback, participation and communication (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Rhenen, 2009). According Schaufeli et al. burnout and work engagement are negatively related to each other (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Rhenen, 2009).

One the abilities of a transformational leader is to “influence attitudes, assumptions and building a commitment for the organizations’ mission” (Yukl, 2009). This process is regularly mediated due to other factors, such as support (Twigg, Fuller, & Hester, 2008). During social exchange, a strong link between commitment and perceived organizational support is evident (Eigenberger, Huntington, Hutchison, & Sowa, 1986) Perceived Organizational Support is defined as employees’ “global beliefs about the extent to which the organization cares about their well-being and values their contributions”. When employees perceive more organizational support, they feel that they are respected in the organization. Perceived support leads to an increase in performance (Chen, Eisenberger, Johnson, & Sucharski, 2009) and organizational support from the manager is related to greater job satisfaction, lower stress leading to lower employee burnout (Lee & Ashforth, 1996; Lewin & Sager, 2008; Penn, Romano, & Foat, 1988). Employees expect that their superior performance will be rewarded. This attitude causes a strong sense of belonging to the organization (Morrison, Jones, & Fuller, 1997).

Several studies have shown that there is a negative relationship between transformational leadership and employee burnout (Corrigan, Diwan, Campion, & Rashid, 2002; Leithwood, Menzies, Jantzi, & Leithwoood, 1996; Stordeur, D’hoore, & Vandenberghe, 2001). Transformational leadership entails leadership with individual attention to subordinates. Transformational managers give support by learning, teaching and providing feedback to their subordinates (Den Hartog & Hoogh, 2009). In previous studies a positive relationship between transformational leadership and the availability of job resources is found (Syrek, Apostel, & Antoni, 2013).On the other hand transactional leadership is about achievements and performance, they are key in the relationship between manager and employee (Den Hartog & Hoogh, 2009). Overall, it is expected that a transactional leader

Page | 16 increases the risk of employee burnout. In addition, it is expected that a transformational

leader reduces the risk of burnout.

Hypothesis 1a. Transactional leadership is positively related to burnout Hypothesis 1b. Transformational leadership is negatively related to burnout

2.4

I

Intention to quit deals with the “conscious and deliberate wilfulness of the employees to leave the organization” (Tett & Meyer, 1993) and it is “individual own estimated subjective possibility or probability of leaving the organization or profession in the near future” (Bigliardi & Dormio, 2005). Intentions are, according to Ajzen and Fishbein (2010), the most immediate determinants of actual behaviour. These can be used as accurate indicators of subsequent behaviour, however the reasons for these intentions are often unknown (Firth, 2004). Various researchers (Kramer, Callister, & Turban, 1995; Kalliath T. B., 2001; Bluedorn, 1982; Saks, 1996) have attempted to answer the matter of what determines people's intention to quit. Van Dick et al. (2004) agree that the phenomenon is far from being fully understood, especially because some of the psychological processes underlying the withdrawal from the organisation are still unclear (Van Dick, Christ, Stellmacher, & Wagner, 2004).

2.4.1

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INTENTION TO QUIT

Many studies have been conducted how the transformational leader could reduce the employees' absence and the intention to quit of an employee (Kamariah, Wafa, Tajammal, & Syed, 2011; Avey, Luthans, Smith, & Palmer, 2010). Firth (2004) suggest that to ameliorate intention to quit, managers need to actively monitor workloads and the relationship between supervisor and subordinates needs to be managed in proper way (Firth, 2004). Research from Ekkirala et al. (1998) revealed that transformational leadership could influence the employee’s effort and attitudes in the organization. Key aspects for employee satisfaction, effort and commitment are feedback, inspiration and guidance (Rotham, Diedericks, & Swart, 2013). In this study these aspects are seen to be crucial aspects in determining turnover intentions. This study revealed empirical evidence that transformational leadership has a negative relationship with the intention to quit subordinates (Ekkirala & Kumar Goute, 1998).

Page | 17 Leadership is an important determinant of involvement. These concepts are often

positively associated with each other. According to Bass and Avolio (Bass, Avolio, & Jung, 1999) a transformational leader is trying to inspire and motivate followers, to increase involvement and work engagement. Work engagement includes absorption and dedication. Work engagement can lead to a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride and challenge (Schaufeli, Dierendonck, & Bakker, 2009). Work engagement could lead to employee dedication, which is known to reduce the employee’s intention to quit (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Rhenen, 2009). The transformational leader creates more personal involvement between himself and his followers, by setting a common vision, mission and goals and involve them in decision making. A transactional leader on the other hand not so much focused on the bond with his or her followers, but more on the exchange relationship. Concluding, the expectation is that transactional leaders increase the intention to quit, while transformational leaders should decrease the intention to quit.

Hypothesis 2a. Transactional leadership increases intention to quit. Hypothesis 2b. Transformational leadership decreases intention to quit.

2.4.2

B

Stress has been proven to influence the intention to quit (Rowold & Schlotz, 2009) and dissatisfaction of the employees work leads to the intention to quit (Bigliardi & Dormio, 2005). Job satisfaction is a construction from the field of organisational behaviour. Job satisfaction measures employee’s attitudes towards their work. Job satisfaction is a popular topic in Human Resources research because of its potential effects on the behaviours and wellbeing of professionals. Dissatisfaction of jobs has been related to a number of workplace withdrawal behaviour, such as absenteeism and the intention to quit. Dissatisfaction is seen as one of the main influences for nurse turnover (Halawi, 2014). In addition, dissatisfaction is linked with individual greater risk of burnout, anxiety and depression (Rouleau, Fournier, Phili, & Dumont, 2012).

Several studies have examined the relationship between the intention to quit towards employee burnout (Moreno-Jiménez, Gálvez-Herrer, Rodríguez-Carvajal, & Sanz Vergel, 2012). Several studies showed the relationship between stress, burnout and turnover intention by examining the level of commitment (Peters, Bhagat, & O'Connor, 1981). As commitment breaks down, an employee is likely to engage in possible job search behavior either in the present or in the near future. The intention to quit concerns with the individual who may be

Page | 18 thinking about quitting a job, however is not willing to actually quit his job (Firth, 2004).

Turnover intentions are about actually quitting the organizations, while intention to quit is thinking about quitting a job but not actually quit. Studies indicate that turnover intentions are an outcome of stress and burnout (Kemery, Bedeian, & Mossholder, 1985; Williams, Konrad, & Scheckler, 2001). This means that employee burnout is an important factor which could lead to higher turnover intentions. The leadership style of the manager could reduce employee’s intention to quit. However recent studies mention intention to quit as a stressor that predicts employee burnout (Dai, Collins, Yu, & Fu, 2008; Himle, Srinika, & Thyness, 1986; Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986). According to the study of Jackson et al. (1986) the intention to quit is an identifiable and important phenomenon related to employee burnout (Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986). Thus, the second hypothesis supposes that an intention to quit is positively related to employee burnout. Weisberg (1994) suggests that intention to quit could be an important factor influencing productivity, commitment and possible burnout. Therefore, based on previous studies, we hypothesis that the intention to quit is positively related to employee burnout.

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3. R

This study seeks to answer the question for the whole population of the Big 4 audit firm. Therefore it was decided to conduct survey research. This chapter describes how the research is done. In paragraph 3.1 we discuss the composition of the sample and in paragraph 3.2 the data collection. Paragraph 3.3 described the measurement methods of the constructs leadership style, burnout and intention to quit. This chapter concludes with paragraph 3.4, data analysis.

3.1

S

The study was conducted in a Big 4 Audit firm in the Netherlands. This audit firm is a multinational professional services network. The audit firm has a great variety of service lines to help and counsel companies with assurance, tax laws and advisory (e.g. Strategy, Performance improvement, Business Recovery). In the Netherlands the company is an independent part and is established in more than 10 different cities. The corporate ambition of the Dutch branch of audit firm is to play a leading role in the field of business services. The audit firm aims to provide the best services and solutions and audit quality for their clients.

A total number of 121 employees of the Big 4 accounting firm participated in the research on a voluntary basis. A total number of 121 responses were received; 17 respondents did not fully complete the questionnaire. Thus, the final sample used in the model consisted of 104 responses: 31% females (N=32) and 69% males (N= 72). The respondents were on average employed 2.5 years by the audit firm and they had worked with 3.69 managers during the obligated change. Within this study we asked about the function level of the respondent. There respondents were divided in the following functions SA4 (1), SA3 (1), SA2 (12), SA1 (35), A2 (38) and A1 (17).

3.2

D

The questionnaire was developed with the information of the literature and my supervisor. To test the understand ability and readability of the questionnaire, the survey was distributed among three employees of the Big 4 accounting firm. They could fill in the questionnaire without any complaints. Based on a seven point Likert-scale, sixty-two questions were asked in order to measure the variables of the research. To determine whether a leader has a transactional or a transformational leadership style the Multifactor Leadership

Page | 20 Questionnaire (MLQ) is used. The MLQ identifies the characteristics of a transformational or

transactional manager and helps individuals discover how they measure up in their own eyes and in the perspective of those with whom they work (Avolio, Bass, & Jung, 1999). The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, is usually administered to subordinates who rate how frequently their leader uses each type of behaviour (Yuk, 1999). The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire consists of 32 Likert scale questions. The job demands and job resources items are adopted from the JD-R model of Schaufeli et al. The Job Demands-Resources model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001) can be used to predict employee burnout and engagement, and consequently organizational performance.

Transformational and transactional leadership involve different leadership behaviour. Transactional leadership consisted of exception passive, management-by-exception active and contingent reward. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for transactional leadership is 0.91 in this research. Transformational leadership consisted of 5 subjects, idealized influence (attributed), idealized influence (behaviour), inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and intellectual stimulation. In this research a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96 is found.

Intention to quit was measured using an expanded version of a propensity to leave scale (Lyons, 1971). This is a three-item scale asking respondents how likely they are to stay at the job or leave (Keil, Armstrong-Stassen, & Camerson, 2000). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the intention to quit is 0.95 in this research.

The items of transactional leadership, transformational leadership, job demands, job resources and intention to quit are rated on a seven point Likert scale with anchors 1: strongly disagree; 2: moderately disagree; 3: slightly disagree; 4: neutral; 5: slightly agree; 6: moderately agree; and 7: strongly agree. The items of burnout are rated on a six point Likert scale with anchors 1: never; 2: once a year; 3: once a month; 4: once a week; 5: more than once a week; 6: on a daily basis. The intention to quit is the psychological process that an individual goes through when they are considering employment options due to some measure of dissatisfaction with their current job situation. The intention to quit concerns employees who intend to quit, but do not. The intention to quit can be useful in explaining job behaviors. Mobley have developed a 3-point Likert scale for measuring the intention to quit (Mobley, Horner, & Hollingsworth, 1978).

To assess burnout, the Utrechtse Burnout Schaal is adopted (Schaufeli, Dierendonck, & Bakker, 2009). This scale is adapted and tested from the English version of de Maslach Burnout Inventory. This is the most used instrument to measure burnout, which is measured

Page | 21 by exhaustion, detachment and competence (Schaufeli, Bakker, & Rhenen, 2009). These

variables are used as a control variable. Next to these control variables some general questions were asked about the employee setting: how many years he or she works at the audit firm and how many managers he or she had during the change period.

The survey instrument was web-based. During this study all the attendees from various offices, were asked if they could help fill-in this questionnaire. The attendees could fill-in the online questionnaire using a link of a web page containing the survey.

3.3

D

Also a multiple regression analysis is conducted to assess the relationships between components of leadership, as independent variable and those of employee burnout as a dependent one. The relationship between the intention to quit and several independent variables. Within this research we accept when the p ≤ 0.05 as an acceptable level. During this study we make us of the stepwise regression analysis. Stepwise regression is an automated process in the exploratory stages of model building to identify a useful subset of predictors. In this study different control variables are used, these control variables are: gender, number of managers during the change, job tenure and job function. These variables are included in the survey because they can lead to possible alternative insights and declarations. We analyzed if the intention to quit has a mediating role between the leadership style of the manager and employee burnout. In this study the step-wise regression method from Baron & Kenny is used for determining this relationship (Baron & Kenny, 1986).

Page | 22

4. R

Within this chapter the results of this study will be discussed. Table 1 presents the descriptive statistics from this study. The Cronbach’s alpha of the constructs is also presented in this table. The Pearson correlations are shown in table 2. Table 3 and 4 stresses with the regression analysis of the dependent variable intention to quit. Table 5 and 6 are regression analysis regarding the dependent variable burnout.

Because many constructs correlate with each other a linear regression analysis is conducted with the intention to quit as a dependant variable and with burnout as a dependant variable (Table 3 and Table 4).

Table 1: Descriptive Statistics

N Minimum Maximum Mean

Std. Deviation Items Reliability Coefficient Transactional (TA) 121 47 84 69,12 7,39 12 0,91 Transformational (TF) 121 38 136 91,19 20,36 20 0,96 Job demands (JD) 105 4 25 17,20 3,44 4 0,72 Job resources (JR) 104 9 28 18,16 4,52 4 0,78 Intention to quit (ITQ) 104 3 19 10,81 5,55 3 0,95 Burnout (BURN) 104 35 76 59,35 10,48 15 0,84 QTY of managers 104 1 6 3,69 1,26 1 -

Tenure 104 1 8 2,57 1,21 1 -

Function 104 2 7 5,54 0,99 1 -

Gender 104 1 2 1,31 0,46 1 -

Table 2: Bivariate Correlations

TA TF JD JR ITQ Transformational 0,06 Job demands -0,11 -0,17 Job resources 0,17 0,63** -0,28** Intention to quit -0,14 -0,28* 0,35** -0,57** Burnout -0,22** -0,50** 0,50** -0,17** 0,80** **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

Page | 23

Table 3: Model Summaryintention to quit

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate Change Statistics Durbin-Watson R Square Change F Change df1 df2 Sig. F Change 1 0,47a 0,22 0,21 5,04 0,22 28,97 1 102 0,000 2 0,55b 0,30 0,29 4,81 0,08 11,38 1 101 0,001 3 0,59c 0,34 0,32 4,68 0,04 6,39 1 100 0,013 4 0,61d 0,37 0,35 4,60 0,03 4,64 1 99 0,034 2,06 a. Predictors: (Constant), qtymangers

b. Predictors: (Constant), qtymangers, Transformsum

c. Predictors: (Constant), qtymangers, Transformsum, function d. Predictors: (Constant), qtymangers, Transformsum, function, tenure e. Dependent Variable: Intentiontoquitsum

Table 4: CoefficientsIntentiontoquit

B SE-b Beta Pearson r

Partial correlation (Constant) _{62,88 15,52} Qtymangers -1,84 0,39 -0,41 -0,47* -0.43 Transformational -0,08 0,02 -0,28 -0,30* -0,32 Function -5,31 1,93 -0,93 -0,42* -0,27 Gender -3,44 1,60 -0,75 0,39** -0,21 a. Dependent Variable: Intentiontoquit **p<0.05 * p<0.01

Table 5: Model SummaryBurnoutsum

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate Change Statistics Durbin-Watson R Square Change F Change df1 df2 Sig. F Change 1 0,81a 0,66 0,65 7,77 0,66 194,39 1 102 0,000 2 0,85b 0,72 0,72 7,00 0,07 24,67 1 101 0,000 3 0,86c 0,74 0,73 6,84 0,02 5,77 1 100 0,018 4 0,87d 0,75 0,74 6,72 0,01 4,64 1 99 0,034 1,59 a. Predictors: (Constant), Intentiontoquitsum

b. Predictors: (Constant), Intentiontoquitsum, Jobresourcesum

c. Predictors: (Constant), Intentiontoquitsum, Jobresourcesum, Transformsum

d. Predictors: (Constant), Intentiontoquitsum, Jobresourcesum, Transformsum, Gender e. Dependent Variable: Burnoutsum

Page | 24

4.1

D

In table 1 the reliability analysis is revealed. Before this table was constructed some variables were recode due to a negative manner of questioning. Afterwards the model was tested for outliers with the Z-score method. No outliers were found.

The Cronbach’s alpha of job resources has been constructed, low levels for two items belonging towards Job resources were removed, due to a severe influence on the Cronbach’s alpha. From the job resources scale item 9 and 14 were removed, resulting the Cronbach’s alpha has risen from 0,48 towards 0,78. Item 37 of job demands also negatively affected the Cronbach’s alpha of this scale, after excluding this variable the Cronbach’s alpha has risen from 0,67 towards 0,72. A total number of three questions were excluded from the complete model. All other measurement scales showed acceptable Cronbach’s alpha coefficients: the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient met the rule of thumb of 0,70 or higher. Table 1 presents ranges, means, standard deviations, number of items in the final scales and reliability coefficients.

4.2

T

Table 2 presents the correlation matrix for the variables. The results show that transactional leadership will lead to less employee burnout (r = - 0,22, p<0.05). Meaning that transactional leadership reduces employee burnout. Therefore we found no support for hypotheses H1a.

Table 6: CoefficientsBurnoutsum

B SE-b Beta Pearson r

Partial correlation (Constant) _{62,40 6,50} Intentiontoquitsum 1,41 0,14 0,61 0,81* 0,49 Jobresourcesum -0,69 0,20 -0,24 -0,68* -0,17 Transformsum -0,11 0,04 -0,18 -0,45* -0,15 Gender -3,25 1,51 -0,11 -0,16** -0,11 a. Dependent Variable: Burnoutsum **p<0.05 * p<0.01

Page | 25

4.3

T

Consistent with our expectations, we have found (table 2) a strong negative association between transformational leadership and burnout (r = -0,50; p<0.01). Therefore we found support for hypotheses H1b, meaning that transformational leadership reduces employee burnout. A strong positive relationship between transformational leadership and the availability of job resources has been found (r = 0,63; p<0.01). No significant relationship between transformational leadership and perceived job demands has been found (r = -0,17). Within this study we found a strong positive relationship between job demands and employee burnout (r = 0,50; p< 0.01).

4.4

T

No significant relationship between transactional leadership and intention to quit has been found. Therefore we are not able to conclude wheatear the transactional leadership leads to a higher intention to quit by employees. Therefore hypotheses H2a is rejected. Other research have found that an higher level of contingent reward, offered by the leader, reduces the intention to quit by the employee. Furthermore the higher the passive management-by-exception, the higher the intention to leave (Bozeman, 2005; Rowold & Schlotz, 2009). Management-by-exception passive is the most negative side of transactional leadership.

4.5

T

The intention to quit was primarily predicted by the quantity of managers and the leadership style of the manager. Hypothesis H2b expected that transformational leadership decrease the intention to quit. Table 2 gives support to this relationship (r = -0,28; p<0.05). The regression analysis shown in table 4 supports this relationship as well (ß = -0,28; p<0.01). Therefore hypotheses H2b is accepted.These findings are in line with other studies, which found that transformational leadership negatively correlates with employee intention to quit (Bozeman, 2005).

Intention to quit was predicted by the amount of managers and is also influenced by the leadership style of the manager. The amount of managers received the strongest weight in the model followed by the transformational leadership style of the manager. The prediction model contained four of the six predictors and was reached in four steps. One variable were excluded, namely gender and quantity of managers. The model was statistically significant (F(4, 99) = 14,63, p<0.001) and accounted for approximately 35% of the variance of burnout

Page | 26 (R2 = 0,37, Adjusted R2 = 0,35). The Anova table of the intention to quit can be found in

Appendix B Table 7.

4.6

B

Burnout was primarily predicted by the intention to quit of employees and to a less extent by higher levels of the availability of job resources. The prediction model contained four of the six predictors and was reached in four steps with two variables removed, namely gender and quantity of managers (see table 5). The correlation table (table 2) show that intention to quit positively correlates with employee burnout (r = 0,80; p <0.01). The model was statistically significant (F(4,99) = 74,34, p<0 .001, and accounted for approximately 74% of the variance of burnout (R2 = 0,75, Adjusted R2 = 0,74). The Anova table for burnout can be found in Appendix B Table 8.

The leadership style of the manager has also an effect on employee burnout, see table 6. Hypothesis H3 expected that the intention to quit would be positively related to burnout. The results of table 2 support this (r = 0,80; p<0.01). The regression analysis supports this connection (ß = 0,61; p<0.01). The raw regression coefficients of the predictors together with their correlations with employee burnout are shown in Table 6. The intention to quit received the strongest positive weight in the model (ß = 0,61; p<0.01). The availability of job resources (ß = -0,24; p<0.01) and the transformational leadership style (ß = -0,18; p<0.01) are negatively influencing employee burnout. Because of the findings from table 6 we conclude that the relationship between transformational leadership, intention to quit and employee burnout is partially mediated. Because the relationship between transformational and intention to quit are both significantly predicting employee burnout. These finding support partial mediation as stated by (Baron & Kenny, 1986).

Page | 27

5. D

5.1

D

The purpose of this study was to study the relationship between transformational and transactional leadership and employee burnout, and the extent of intention to quit influencing this relationship. It was expected that transformational leadership negatively affect employee burnout and that the intention to quit would be a predictor of burnout. Moreover transactional leadership was expected to be positively correlated with employee burnout. The results in this study show that the transformational leadership style leads to lower levels of employee burnout. Contrary to our expectations the results in this study give evidence that transactional leadership decreases employee burnout. No significant relationship has found for the influence of transactional leadership and the mediating role of intention to quit on burnout. Therefore this relationship could also be further explored in the future. The transformational leadership style is strongly negatively related to employee burnout. The transformational leadership style strives towards high levels of performance, however within this study it does not lead to higher levels of burnout by subordinates. Transformational leaders focus on the communication of a long-term vision which is based on shared values and common goals. Consequently, it might be argued that transformational leadership helps establishing a meaningful - stress-preventing - frame for everyday work. Concluding, transformational leaders aims for superior levels of performance successfully, but on the other hand their subordinates do not perceive an increased level of burnout. These findings imply that transformational leaders could increase performance without adding stress to their subordinates. Within this research we did not measure job performance, therefore we cannot say that transformational leadership is a more efficient leadership style. The transformational leadership style has also a positive influence on the availability of job resources. This is in line with earlier findings (Bass & Avolio, 1991).

Earlier research about leadership theory manly addresses the relationship between transformational leadership and employee burnout. However, there are limited studies that try to understand the process of transactional leadership and the influence on employee burnout. This study tried to explain the relationship between leadership style on employee burnout. Findings imply that transactional leadership negatively affects employee burnout. This is in line with earlier research (Ori & Roth, 2011). In other studies (Rowold & Schlotz, 2009) there has found a positive relationship between one particular aspect of transactional leadership,

Page | 28 namely management-by-exception. This part of transactional leadership is seen as the most

negative side of transactional leadership.

The JD-R model supposes when job demands are high, they are positively associated with the exhaustion component of burnout. Job resources are mainly and negatively associated with disengagement leading towards lower employee burnout. The results of the regression analysis imply that the availability of job resources negatively influence possible employee burnout. The more resources ones get, the less burnout he possesses. It can therefore be concluded that the relationship of transformational leadership influences the availability of job resources. Job resources reduce the degree of burnout by employees. Furthermore we find that job demands are a precondition of employee burnout. These findings are consistent with the proposed JD-R model of Schaufeli et. al (2009).

The intention to quit is one of the main predictors of employee burnout. Within this study we found that the transformational leadership style reduces the intention to quit by employees. No significant relationship between transactional leadership and the intention to quit has been found.

5.2

T

From both theoretical and practical point of view, the results of this study are interesting. The results of this study contribute to the scientific study of leadership. Not only because this study focuses specifically on accountancy firms, but also because of the explanation of the impact of leadership style on employee burnout. Theorists state that a vision is a precondition to achieve effective organizational change (Conger & Kanungo, 1987; House, Spangler, & Woycke, 1991). They emphasize that the implementation of change starts with a leader who formulates a vision associated with a desired organizational outcome (Nanus, 1992). Theorist also states that transformational leadership has a positive influence on reducing employee burnout. However theorists do not have a clear and congruous explanation regarding the relationship between transactional leadership and employee burnout. Within this research both leadership styles have shown a positive relationship reducing employee burnout. Leadership function may vary by organizational level, discipline or employee. In order to met all these demands a combination of the transactional as well as the transformational leadership style should be adopted (Aarons, 2006). For gaining better audit quality, managers need to take multiple hurdles to change the organization.

Page | 29

5.3

P

The managers main role is to collaborate and communicate with subordinates in order to achieve constructive a relationship with subordinate(s). The internal letter of the Big 4 Audit firm stated that employees within the organization need to “learn, adopt and communicate” with each other. Teams with transformational managers perform better and the degree of burnout by employees is lower (Schaufeli, Dierendonck, & Bakker, 2009). Burnout and engagement exhibit different patterns of possible causes and consequences. As Schaufeli et al. (2009) mentioned “different intervention strategies be used when burnout is to be reduced or engagement is to be enhanced” (Schaufeli, Dierendonck, & Bakker, 2009). A major role for achieving this is for the HR department of the company. The HR department should realize that an employee who is “engaged” is one who is fully absorbed - and enthusiastic – about their work. To increase the effectiveness of the organization and to lower health costs the HR department of the organization should focus on optimizing the leadership style of the managers. By embracing a transformational leadership style, employees remain longer in the organization and show less exhaustion. The organization will prove to work more effectively.

5.4

L

The research methodology used during this study had some impact on the findings during this study. First, the change has been introduced in October 2014 the outcomes and consequences during business season (January until June) were not visible when the questionnaire has been sent in December. Therefore employees could not see all the outcomes of the change when the questionnaire was send.

Because of the direct involvement of the researcher - an employee of the Big 4 Audit firm - the outcomes could be biased because the respondents could give pleasing answers. Moreover, people who generally have a very positive perception of their leadership more likely the questionnaire are very positive to be completed and for people who think negatively about their managerial vice versa. During this study respondents knew that their response would be anonymous and reliable processes, however it is likely that employees feared that their answers would be used for other purposes.

The quantitative data could be processed quickly and a large group of possible respondents could be reached. This study is conducted in one particular organization – a Big 4 accounting firm in the Netherlands, this makes it complex to generalize beyond these boundaries. Due to the type of research no causality conclusions can be made, this is a general limitation of (behavioural) questionnaires (Yukl, 2009). To determine causality the

Page | 30 independent variable should be manipulated by means of an experiment or by longitudinal

research.

Future research should focus on the manager which could fill-in a questionnaire regarding his subordinates. When there are differences between the perception of leader and follower these difference could be overtaken for achieving better fit.

The theoretical model used in this study could be extended with the variable “support of the obligated change”. By applying such a model the role of the manager could be taken apart and the resistance to change could further be determined. Future research could also discuss leader group prototypicallity. Leader group prototypicallity describes the extent to which the leader is representative for the group (Van Knippenberg, Van Knippenberg, & Bobbio, 2007; van Knippenberg & van Schie, 2000). Prototypicallity prescribes beliefs, attitudes, norms, values and behavior. We believe that when an employee represents the group values, norms, standards, feelings and perceptions, the intention to quit of possible employee burnout will be reduced. A follow-up study could be extended with multiple dependent variables - such as prototypicallity and support - to test whether several independent variables influence a dependent variable resulting in positive or negative effects, furthermore it is possible to check for interaction effects.

Future research could distinguish transactional leadership and the management-by-exception separately to check for opposite results for employee burnout. Management-by-exception positively effects employee burnout, while transactional leadership itself decreases employee burnout. An explanation for this phenomenon is that employees know what is expected from them and how they are rewarded for their achievements. Management-by-exception passive leaders wait until issues occur, when standards are not met expectations they intervene. Instead of rewards, punishment is a response for unacceptable performance.

5.5

C

In this master thesis, the effect of the transactional as well as the transformational leadership style on employee burnout is exposed. A negative relationship between these two concepts has been found, meaning that the transactional as well as the transformational leadership style reduces employee burnout. The Big 4 Dutch accounting firm state in their internal document that employees should “learn, develop, innovate and communicate”. Taken this study into account, this desired situation is understandable for preventing the intention to

Page | 31 quit. Intention to quit is seen as a precondition of employee burnout. By reducing the intention