Change fatigue, teacher exhaustion and work engagement: The buffering role of transformational leadership

Abstract Although constant changes driven by reforms, technological adaptations and shifts in formal rules and regulations have contributed to the emergence of change fatigue in education, the consequences and mitigating factors remain largely underexplored. This study examined the extent to which change fatigue was related to teacher emotional exhaustion and work engagement in Türkiye. Additionally, it examined transformational leadership as a buffering mechanism in the relationship between change fatigue, exhaustion and engagement. Data were collected from 516 teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings revealed that perceived change fatigue was significantly associated with emotional exhaustion, which in turn was negatively associated with work engagement. The relationship between change fatigue and work engagement was rather indirect, with emotional exhaustion as the mediator. Furthermore, transformational leadership played a protective role by weakening the negative link between exhaustion and engagement, but not the relationship between change fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Our research concludes that transformational leadership may function as a potential moderator, pacifying the indirect effect of change fatigue on engagement through exhaustion.