TY  - EJOU
AU  - Qiu, Wenjie 
AU  - Wang, Jiyuan 
AU  - Zhang, Zheng 

TI  - Leader workaholism and employee work fatigue: The role of emotional exhaustion and family support
T2  - Journal of Psychology in Africa

PY  - 2025
VL  - 35
IS  - 6
SN  - 1815-5626

AB  - This study examined emotional exhaustion and family support in the relationship between leader workaholism and employee work fatigue. The participants were 408 employed adults (74% female, age range 25 to 27 years) across five industries: sales (31.65%), finance (25.32%), education (20.25%), public administration (12.66%), and technology (10.13%), from 79 work teams in China. Survey data were collected at three time points over a three-month period. The results from structural equation modeling indicated that leader workaholism was associated with higher employee work fatigue. Emotional exhaustion mediated the relationship, contributing to higher levels of employee fatigue. Furthermore, family support moderated the relationship between emotional exhaustion and work fatigue. These findings align with the conservation of resources theory and the social support buffering model, both of which propose that resources, such as family support, can help buffer the negative effects of stressors like workaholism. The implications of these findings highlight the significance of family support as a valuable resource in reducing work fatigue and emotional exhaustion among employees, particularly in environments where leader workaholism is prevalent.
KW  - Workaholism; emotional exhaustion; family support; work fatigue

DO  - 10.32604/jpa.2025.070151