The Effect of Toxic Leadership on Organizational Trauma Mediated by Teachers Emotional Exhaustion, among High School Teachers in Khuzestan Province

A review of the research shows that the study of the negative and leadership of managers of organizations as well as the study of organizational trauma in in the world and in the field of educational organizations the above variables have been studied in few cases. Perhaps the importance of this research can be attributed to its capacity to raise awareness and prevent the dangers of toxic leadership practices in creating organizational trauma in schools and teachers' emotional exhaustion. Considering the undeniable role of leadership of school principals in job attitudes and organizational behavior of teachers and professional concerns of the first author of the article as an actor in the field of education, the study seeks to investigate the role of toxic leadership in creating organizational trauma Khuzestan, in other words, this study tries to answer the question in a scientific way: Is the role of toxic leadership in creating organizational trauma through the emotional Exhaustion of high school teachers in Khuzestan province significant? 

The study population was 16750 people in all secondary school teachers in Khuzestan province in 2020-2021, from which a sample of 407 people was selected based on Cochran's formula by stratified random sampling. To collect data, Schmidt' Toxic Leadership Questionnaire (2008), Vivian and Horman (2015) Organizational Trauma Questionnaire, Hills Emotional exhaustion Questionnaire (2019), was used Confirmation path analysis by LISREL10.30 software was used to analyze the data.

Toxic leadership of Principals had a positive and significant effect (0.46) on school organizational trauma at the level of P <0.05. Toxic leadership of managers had a positive and significant effect (0.55) on emotional burnout at the level of P <0.05. Emotional exhaustion had a positive and significant effect (0.54) on school organizational trauma at the level of P <0.05. Toxic leadership of Principals due to emotional burnout had an indirect, positive and significant effect (0.29) on school organizational trauma at the level of P <0.05. 

Toxic leaders exhibit highly destructive behaviors and some dysfunctional personal characteristics. By poisoning, these behaviors and personality traits cause serious and lasting damage to their followers and organizations. And with selfish behaviors, harming others, and reinforcing and pursuing personal goals, willingly or unwillingly, it will also have negative effects. Finally, it can be said that teachers' emotional exhaustion provides the necessary ground for transmitting the greater effect of toxic leadership on organizational trauma.