Emotional Intelligence of Hospital Leaders, Nurse Burnout and Retention: An Integrative Review and a Conceptual Framework for Hospital Management

Hospitals worldwide face persistent shortages of nurses, and burnout is one of the main reasons nurses reduce their hours or leave the profession. While staffing levels and workload are well-established causes of burnout, a growing body of research points to the quality of leadership as a powerful and modifiable influence on nurses’ wellbeing and intention to stay. This paper examines the role of leaders’ emotional intelligence, the ability to perceive, understand and manage emotions in oneself and others, in shaping nurse burnout and retention. Using an integrative review of literature from hospital management, nursing, organisational psychology and leadership studies, the paper synthesises evidence on burnout, leadership styles and emotional intelligence in healthcare settings. The review finds that relational leadership styles are consistently associated with lower burnout and higher job satisfaction among nurses, and that emotional intelligence is a strong correlate of such styles. It also finds evidence that emotional intelligence can be developed through training. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources model and conservation of resources theory, the paper proposes the Emotionally Intelligent Hospital Leadership Framework, in which leader emotional intelligence operates as a job resource that buffers the effects of high job demands on burnout and turnover intention. Four propositions and practical recommendations are offered for hospital administrators, with attention to the Indian context.