Purpose This study examined the relationship between toxic leadership and turnover intention among professional firefighters in Nevada. Psychological well-being and resilience were tested as potential mediators using parallel mediation analysis. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 348 firefighters to measure toxic leadership, psychological well-being, resilience, and turnover. Hayes's (2022) PROCESS Model 4 with 5,000 bootstrap samples tested hypothesized mediation paths. Findings Toxic leadership significantly predicted turnover intention (β = 0.25, p 0.001) and was negatively associated with psychological well-being (r = −0.29, p 0.001) and resilience (r = −0.20, p 0.001). Psychological well-being mediated the relationship (indirect effect = 0.090, SE = 0.021, 95% CI 0.052, 0.134), while resilience did not (indirect effect = 0.003, SE = 0.004, 95% CI –0.004, 0.013). The model explained 35.7% of the variance in turnover intention. Research limitations/implications Cross-sectional design limits causal inference. Self-reported data and the Nevada-only sample restrict generalizability. Future longitudinal, multi-state, and multi-source studies are needed. Practical implications Fire service organizations should adopt emotional intelligence training, 360-degree feedback, confidential reporting, and trauma-informed mental health support. These suggestions are directly based on findings that toxic leadership damages well-being (r = −0.29, p 0.001), which influences turnover intention (indirect effect = 0.090, 95% CI 0.052, 0.134), indicating that targeted interventions could reduce up to 35.7% of the variance in retention risks. Social implications Reducing toxic leadership improves firefighter retention, mental health, and public safety through stable, experienced emergency response teams. Originality/value This research enhances the existing body of literature on public leadership by empirically examining the influence of toxic leadership within a public safety organization on workforce retention, mediated through psychological mechanisms. This investigation expands public leadership theory by illustrating how toxic behaviors compromise public value creation through workforce instability in environments characterized by shared power and high accountability. By situating toxic leadership within the governance and accountability frameworks of the fire service, the study broadens leadership theory beyond conventional leader–follower dynamics to include aspects of public-sector stewardship, capacity, and the assurance of continuous service.
Boullion et al. (Thu,) studied this question.