Transformational Leadership, HRM practices and burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic: The role of personal stress, anxiety, and workplace loneliness

The present research investigates the crucial role of Transformational Leadership (TFL) on employees' anxiety, personal stress, and workplace loneliness, and finally on employees' burnout. Moreover, this survey investigates the moderating role of HRM practices in the relationship between TFL and burnout. For the needs of the research, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was conducted on a sample of 459 Greek customer-contact employees based on thirteen hotels during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the findings uncover the dynamic of TFL in reducing all three stressors, namely personal financial stress; anxiety; and workplace loneliness, thus prohibiting employees' burnout. Moreover, the study underscores the moderating role of HRM practices in strengthening the negative relationship between TFL and burnout. Overall, the findings provide additional evidence on the process through which HRM practices interact with TFL, job stressors, and employees' burnout, a vital knowledge for HRM professionals and hotels' managers.

Automated summary

This research explores the important role of Transformational Leadership (TFL) in employees' anxiety, personal stress, workplace loneliness, and burnout, and also investigates the moderating role of HRM practices in the relationship between TFL and burnout. The findings reveal that TFL plays a dynamic role in reducing personal financial stress, anxiety, and workplace loneliness, thereby preventing employee burnout. Additionally, the study highlights the moderating effect of HRM practices in strengthening the negative relationship between TFL and burnout.