Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Business Administration

Major

Business Administration

Date of Defense

7-20-2022

Graduate Advisor

Jennifer Reynolds-Moehrle

Committee

Jennifer Reynolds-Moehrle

Bindu Arya

Dinesh Mirchandani

Abstract

An issue that concerns public accounting firms, both large and small, is that of employee burnout within the workplace. As a service-oriented industry, accommodating client needs is pivotal to long-term success. With that in mind, meeting client demands often means accountants must work long and strenuous hours, an attribute inherent to the industry. Consequently, public accounting firms often find themselves struggling with voluntary turnover as a result of burnout and opportunity for increased financial incentives elsewhere. The busy season in public accounting can be especially difficult, as accountants can find themselves working very long hours for weeks on end. This quantitative research proposal intends to examine the impact of leader-member exchange (LMX) as a moderating variable of job stress on job burnout among millennial accountants sampled from multiple state accounting societies located in the United States. Public accounting firms can use findings from this study to develop corporate policies to promote a culture that will assist in mitigating the negative effects of immense workloads accounting professionals experience during peak seasonal demands. Business schools can benefit from this study by redesigning existing curriculums to include behavioral courses to focus on leadership development.

Available for download on Friday, July 25, 2025

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