Beyond Endurance: Employee Survival Strategies and Post-Traumatic Growth in Toxic Leadership Contexts in Pakistan

Toxic leadership is extremely detrimental to workers and businesses worldwide, whereas cultural aspects of survival and adaptation have not been studied well in non-Western societies. Within the framework of a highly diversified culture due to high power distance, collectivism, and financial constraints, this qualitative research explores the effects that toxic leadership has on the experience of Pakistani workers in the corporate, government, and NGO sectors and how they manage to cope with these experienced challenges. The semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with 24 employees who had been victims of toxic leadership for at least six months. Thematic analysis following Braun and Clarke's framework revealed six themes: toxic leadership manifestations including authoritarian control, public humiliation, favouritism, exploitation, and credit appropriation; psychological and physical harm extending to family systems; coping strategies such as emotional detachment, strategic compliance, documentation, and Islamic patience; peer and family support networks; resilience and post-traumatic growth including stronger emotional intelligence and clarified personal values; and cultural moderators including power distance, izzat (honour), and wasta (connections). With little institutional safeguard, workers performed exceptional agency with culturally based survival tactics.