Job demands and perceived distance in leader-follower relationships: A study on emotional exhaustion among nurses.

Background: Emotional exhaustion is the most important component of burnout syndrome, which is a threat to nurses' psychological well-being.

Objectives: The study investigated the impact of job demands - workload, cognitive demands, emotional demands, role conflict - and perceived leader-follower interaction frequency on emotional exhaustion among nurses.

Methods: This study was conducted at three hospitals in northern Italy through an anonymous self-report questionnaire administered to 560 nurses.