According to the literature, the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and/or burnout symptoms among healthcare workers is high. There are several factors than can, directly or indirectly, be related to these symptoms, being the leadership styles one of them. Toxic leadership, as a form of malicious leadership, has been shown to negatively impact the mental health and wellbeing of the workforce, through the adoption of dysfunctional behaviour and/or the presence of deviant personality traits (psychopathic, Machiavellianism, narcissistic) in leaders. Despite its relevance, there is an absence of studies on the efficacy of intervention programs aimed to reduce the impact of toxic leadership styles in the workplace, namely among health care professionals. Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) is considered an effective therapeutic approach for the rehabilitation of individuals with several psychopathological symptoms/disorders (e.g., anxiety, stress, burnout, and deviant personality traits) and for the establishment of healthy relationships with friends, family, and coworkers. In the workplace, CFT-based interventions have been shown to promote employees' wellbeing, through the reduction of stress and burnout symptoms and improvement of healthy and compassionate interpersonal relationships. It is thus mandatory to develop and test cost-effectiveness CFT-based intervention programs able to mitigate the impact of toxic leadership styles in the workforce, promoting compassionate workplaces in health care systems. To fulfil this gap, this clinical trial intends to develop and preliminarily test the efficacy of a short-term and low-time consuming internet delivery CFT-based intervention (iWork.COMP) specifically designed to mitigate the impact of toxic leadership styles through the development of compassionate motivation among health care professionals. Following a Randomized Controlled Trial, with 200 participants allocated to either a treatment group (TG) or a waiting-list control group (WLCG), it is hypothesized that the iWork.COMP will reduce the impact of toxic leadership styles, deviant traits and burnout symptoms among the TG when compared with the WLCG. Moreover, we expect that the iWork.COMP will promote wellbeing and a compassionate motivation among the TG when compared with the WLCG.
Age range
18 Years
Sex
ALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
The Toxic Leadership Scale
Timeframe: Baseline; 4 weeks (middle intervention); 8 weeks (post-intervention); 12 weeks (Follow-up)