Relationship between Unethical and Destructive Leadership with Emotional Exhaustion and Job Performance

Background: Unethical and Destructive leaders can negatively influence their organizations and employees by neglecting ethical and human standards. This negative impact, if continued, could result in the loss of efficiency and performance of employees and organizations. This research was administered with the aim of investigating structural model of the relationship between destructive leadership with emotional exhaustion and job performance. Method: Research method was correlation and statistical population includes the employees of Zobahan thermal power joint stock company employees in Isfahan city, among them 314 persons were selected using in access sampling. Research instruments include destructive leadership questionnaire, emotional exhaustion questionnaire and job performance. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: Results revealed that there is a positive significant relationship between destructive leadership and emotional exhaustion (p<0.01), but there is a negative significant relationship between destructive leadership and job performance (p<0.01). Also results revealed that there is a negative significant relationship between emotional exhaustion and job performance (p<0.01). Results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that, destructive leadership either has direct and significant relationship or indirect relationship through emotional exhaustion with job performance. Also the results showed that, emotional exhaustion is a partial mediator variable on the relationship between destructive leadership and job performance. Conclusion: The results of this research showed that destructive leadership can lead to symptoms of emotional exhaustion and, consequently, loss of staff performance