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In the current workforce, the rising demands for respiratory care practitioners (RCPs) may show the general problem that RCPs are leaving because of job-related stressors (Metcalf et al., 2015). The purpose of the current quantitative relational research study was to examine a) whether emotional exhaustion mediates the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction, and turnover intentions and b) whether servant leadership moderates the relationship between job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intentions. The hypothesized model tested the effect of job stress on emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction levels, intentions to leave, and whether servant leadership support could moderate these connections. Using a sample of 215 respiratory therapist professionals from multiple healthcare organizations, data were collected through an online survey consisting of various scales and a demographic questionnaire. Hayes (2018) PROCESS macro add-on was used to analyze the effect job stress has on job satisfaction and turnover intention, and whether the variables' association is mediated through emotional exhaustion. In addition, servant leadership was examined to determine the effects of job stress on the outcome variables. Evidence was found for a partial mediation effect of job stress, job satisfaction, and turnover intention, based on emotional exhaustion. Moreover, servant leadership failed to moderate the relationship between job stress and emotional exhaustion, as well as job satisfaction, and turnover intention.
Keywords: Quantitative methods, mediation analysis, moderation analysis, conditional analysis, job stress, emotional exhaustion, servant leadership theory, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, respiratory care practitioners (RCPs)
Over the past several decades, job stress has gained attention in occupational health, psychology, and leadership studies. Although some stress is essential to work performance, researchers (Cohen et al., 2017; Miller et al., 2021) construe stress as negatively affecting an individual's well-being and work experience when objectionable feelings and cognitive distractions accompany the level of distress. Recent research has shown that healthcare workers are experiencing a great deal of stress, exhaustion, along with dissatisfaction, and are considering leaving their organizations or reducing their hours (Grunfeld et al., 2000). Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant burnout levels for Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCPs), mainly related to long hours, inadequate staffing, frequent exposure to COVID-19, and negative perceptions of leadership (Miller et al., 2021). The repercussion of burnout, notably emotional exhaustion in one's professional position,...