The Relationship Between Toxic Leadership Behaviors of School Administrators and Teachers' Organizational Citizenship Behavior

This research aims to determine the relationship between administrators' toxic leadership behaviors and teachers' perceptions of organizational citizenship behaviors. The research population consists of 9815 teachers working in public primary, secondary, and high schools in the city center of Mersin. The sample/study group consists of 443 teachers. This research is a quantitative study designed using a correlational survey model. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Toxic Leadership Scale, and the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale. SPSS 25.0 was used for data analysis, and t-tests, ANOVA, correlation, and regression analyses were performed. According to the research results, there is a moderately significant and negative relationship between toxic leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. Similarly, there is a moderately significant, negative relationship between the sub-dimensions of toxic leadership—unappreciativeness, utilitarianism, selfishness, and psychological dysfunction—and organizational citizenship. Furthermore, when the data were evaluated using the total toxic leadership score, it was determined that toxic leadership is a significant, negative predictor of organizational citizenship behavior. As teachers' perceptions of their administrators' toxic leadership increased, their tendency to exhibit organizational citizenship behavior decreased significantly.