PurposeUnder the tenets of conservation of resources and role theories, this study has aimed to draw up and test a moderated-mediation model. The model postulates job burnout (JB) as a mediator between role stress (RS) and organizational commitment (OC) while transformational leadership (TFL) as a moderator to such mediation.Design/methodology/approachFor this cross-sectional study, multisource field data from the service industry was collected using a convenient sampling procedure. A total of 354 employees participated in the anonymous survey. The proposed model of the study was tested with a hierarchical regression approach using Hayes PROCESS macro.FindingsThe data fitted best for the four-factor measurement model of the study. Afterward, the authors found that RS directly affected employees’ perception of OC. The relationship between RS and OC was partially mediated by JB. The authors ascertained the transformational leader’s buffering role between the RS-JB relationship and the transformational leader’s contingent indirect effect as well.Originality/valueThis research is a first-of-its-kind investigation into enlightening the direct and indirect link via JB between RS and OC and the moderating effect of TFL on such indirect effect in a rarely studied organizational setting of a developing country.