Transformational Leadership and Burnout within the Swedish Construction Industry

Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between perception of transformational leadership and burnout experience and determined the mediation effect of organizational factors on this specific relationship within a Swedish construction company. Further, differences between blue- and white-collar workers in the perception of transformational leadership and burnout experiences were examined. It was found that the perceived transformational leadership style can predict the burnout dimensions cynicism and professional efficacy, but not the exhaustion dimension. As hypothesized, white-collar workers perceive their leaders as more transformational than their blue-collar colleagues. No significant differences between the workers were identified in terms of burnout experience. Analyzed in separate mediation models, the organizational context factors reward and values were found to fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership perception and cynicism. The relationship between transformational leadership and professional efficacy was fully mediated by the organizational context factors control, fairness, reward, and values. The study emphasizes the importance of transformational leadership and organizational context factors for burnout prevention in the construction industry and gives several implications for this field of studies.