The Relationship Between Despotic Leadership and Employee Outcomes: An Empirical Study from Pakistan

Through emotional exhaustion, this study empirically tests followers’ behavioural responses to autocratic leaders. The current research focuses on the effects caused by despotic leadership on followers’ emotional exhaustion, which leads to employee outcomes such as interpersonal deviance and indirect aggression. The association between despotic leadership and results (employee interpersonal deviance and indirect violence) is investigated in this study. In this study, emotional exhaustion is used as a mediator. Furthermore, negative affectivity is used as a moderator between despotic leadership and emotional exhaustion. A time-lagged framework is employed with a sample of 255 respondents. Age, qualification, marital status, gender, grade, type of organization, department, and job experience are among the eight demographical questions in this study. After evaluating the data for normality, correlation analysis was performed, followed by moderation and mediation analysis. The current study explores the link between despotic leadership and emotional exhaustion among followers, arguing that a despotic leader will leave followers exhausted at work. Emotional exhaustion was also linked to interpersonal deviances, such as indirect aggression, in a significant and positive way. Employee outcomes, such as interpersonal deviances and indirect aggressiveness through emotional exhaustion, will be influenced by a despotic leader, according to the findings.