IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jmerit/v5y2025i1p3-d1576231.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

When Leaders Are Safe Havens: How Secure Base Leadership Buffers the Impact of Emotional Demands on Exhaustion

Author

Listed:
  • María C. Navas-Jiménez

    (Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Ana Laguia

    (Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain)

  • Rocio Schettini

    (Fundación de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain)

  • Fidel Rodríguez-Batalla

    (Fundación de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain)

  • David Guillén-Corchado

    (Centro Asociado Madrid, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28012 Madrid, Spain)

  • Juan A. Moriano

    (Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), 28040 Madrid, Spain)

Abstract

Based on attachment theory, this research explores Secure Base Leadership’s (SBL) efficacy in mitigating the negative impact of emotional demands on employee exhaustion, with an aim to reduce burnout rates and improve workplace well-being. A survey sample of 428 Spanish employees from various sectors was collected, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to test the research model. Emotional demands were found to significantly increase employee exhaustion, whereas SBL reduced and moderated these effects, proving its protective function. Furthermore, increased exhaustion was associated with longer tenure and employment in private organizations. Findings support integrating SBL in leadership development to foster a supportive environment, mitigate burnout, and boost employee well-being. Highlighting the application of attachment theory in organizational settings, this study contributes to understanding SBL’s effectiveness against emotional demands, guiding leadership practices to enhance organizational health.

Suggested Citation

  • María C. Navas-Jiménez & Ana Laguia & Rocio Schettini & Fidel Rodríguez-Batalla & David Guillén-Corchado & Juan A. Moriano, 2025. "When Leaders Are Safe Havens: How Secure Base Leadership Buffers the Impact of Emotional Demands on Exhaustion," Merits, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jmerit:v:5:y:2025:i:1:p:3-:d:1576231
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8104/5/1/3/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8104/5/1/3/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jmerit:v:5:y:2025:i:1:p:3-:d:1576231. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.