Understanding the Link Between Toxic Leadership and Employee Well-being: The Interplay of Employee Turnover, Organizational commitment, Shift timing & Industry Sector

Abstract

Background This study examines the impact of toxic leadership on employee well-being and turnover across various industry sectors in the United Arab Emirates. Toxic leadership, marked by manipulative and hostile behaviors, has been associated with negative employee outcomes. However, limited research has jointly explored these effects with the moderating roles of organizational commitment and shift timing in this regional context. Grounded in Social Exchange Theory, Psychological Contract Theory, and Conservation of Resources Theory, the study investigates how toxic leadership influences employee well-being and turnover and whether organizational commitment, shift timing, and industry sector moderate these relationships. Methods A quantitative survey design was used, involving responses from 300 employees representing diverse sectors. Regression analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to assess the direct and moderating effects of toxic leadership on well-being and turnover. The analysis examined model significance, variance explained, and moderation through interaction terms while confirming validity and reliability through AVE, HTMT, and VIF metrics. Results Toxic leadership significantly reduced employee well-being (R = 0.445, R 2 = 0.198) and increased turnover (R = 0.422, R 2 = 0.178). Organizational commitment moderated the toxic leadership–turnover relationship (B = 0.2124, p = .0088) but did not moderate the toxic leadership–well-being relationship. Shift timing and industry sector showed minimal moderation with negligible variance explained. The structural model demonstrated good fit and explanatory power for turnover (R 2 = 0.582) and workplace behavior (R 2 = 0.373), confirming acceptable reliability and validity indices. Conclusion Toxic leadership detrimentally affects employee well-being and retention across all sectors. Organizational commitment partially buffers these effects on turnover but not on well-being. Findings highlight that reducing toxic leadership behaviors is essential for employee health and organizational stability, as contextual factors like shift timing or sector offer limited protective influence.