Job burnout: Towards a resource-based sequential model

This study aimed at developing and testing a sequential model of job burnout based on Conservation of Resources theory (COR; Hobfoll, 2001). The proposed model posits that job resources have a primary role in protecting individuals from the threats posed by high job demands, which in turn sequentially influence two core dimensions of job burnout, i.e., emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.Measures of job resources consisted of scales on job control and supervisory support whereas job demands included scales on psychological demands (work pressure, work pace, etc.) and role conflict. Job burnout comprised scales on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. A questionnaire survey was conducted among a randomly selected sample of 2,267 nurses from public hospitals in Hong Kong. Data were analyzed using structural equations modeling procedures.Results supported the resource-based sequential model, indicating that job resources had a negative effect on emotional exhaustion via job demands, and emotional exhaustion in turn had a positive effect on depersonalization. Job resources also had a direct negative effect on emotional exhaustion indicating that job demands acted as a partial mediator. Sequentially, emotional exhaustion mediated fully the effects of job resources and job demands on depersonalization. Findings imply that control over ones job and experienced support from immediate supervisors play a central role in the burnout process. These job resources sequentially reduce threats posed by high job demands and protect individuals from experienced losses, i.e., emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.