Toxic workplace dynamics and executive turnover: examining the impact of negative organizational climate on senior leadership attrition

Abstract

Executive turnover, conversely, creates strategic and operational challenges for unfurling organizations, often interrupting leadership continuity, morale, and long-term performance. This study attempts to investigate how senior staff attrition creeps in due to negative energy-labeled behaviors that include toxic behavior, bad leadership, bad recognition, and interpersonal conflict. The analysis involved a sequential mixed methods approach-analyzing survey response from 150 high-level professionals, along with conducting in-depth interviews from a purposively selected sample of 20 respondents. Quantitative findings affirm that there is a significant positive correlation between perceived negative energy and turnover intentions (β = 0.61, p < 0.01), with a great 72% of respondents indicating a considerable intention to leave due to exposure to toxic workplace conditions. Thematic analysis from qualitative data supported these findings, establishing that executive disengagement was significantly driven by leadership failure, unresolved conflicts, and emotional exhaustion. Based on the JD-R model and Social Exchange Theory, the study propounds that negative workplace dynamics deplete essential psychological and organizational resources.