Leadership Styles and Work Overload as Predictors Of Emotional Exhaustion among Staff of Nigerian Custom Service

Abstract

This study investigated the contributions of leadership styles and work overload in emotional exhaustion among custom staff in Nigerian.. Five hundred and eleven workers from some states in Nigeria participated in this study. They comprise 213 females and 298 males drawn from various states of the country, and were aged between 25-50 years, with a mean age of 35.10 years (SD=7.90). Leadership Styles Questionnaire was used to access leadership styles, Work overload sub-scale of the Work Stressor Questionnaire was used to access work overload and Emotional exhaustion sub-scale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess emotional exhaustion. Data was analyzed using the hierarchical multiple regression. Results showed that autocratic leadership style (β = .41, p<.01), laissez-faire leadership style (β = .29, p<.01), and work overload (β = .19, p<.01), positively predicted emotional exhaustion. While democratic leadership style (β = -.28, p<.01) negatively predicted emotional exhaustion among workers in Nigeria. The results of the study were discussed, implications outlined, its limitations were delineated, and suggestions made for future studies.