Abstract
The goal of the present paper was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to operationalize the balance between job demands and resources in order to predict job burnout. After generating the items, we first conducted a cross-sectional study (Study 1) based on 656 participants, which provided preliminary evidence for the validity of the balance. We then conducted a longitudinal study (Study 2) based on 882 participants to improve and validate the final version of the balance. In study 1, the (im)balance between risks and resources explained a high percentage of variance in job burnout (44%) and a significant percentage in job turnover intention (27%) as well as subjective health (12%). In study 2, results indicated that a change in the balance produced significant change in job burnout scores over time. In addition, balance scores positively predicted positive outcomes (i.e., overall job satisfaction and subjective health) and negatively predicted negative outcomes (i.e., job turnover intention, counterproductive behaviors at work, depression, alcohol use, sleep disorders and somatic complaints). Findings support the usefulness of the Balance for clinicians, companies and researchers interested in assessing job demands and resources.
Highlights
Published: 6 September 2021Since it has emerged in the 1970s, the phenomenon of burnout has received ever increasing attention both inside and outside academia
Job burnout is a specific disorder resulting from prolonged exposure to high job demands in the absence of enough resources to compensate for their effects [1,2]
We aimed to answer the following research questions: (1) how is the Balance related to job burnout, subjective health and turnover intention? (2) how are the items of the Balance related to the job burnout? and (3) how much does the Balance add to the prediction of job burnout above and beyond sociodemographic factors?
Summary
Published: 6 September 2021Since it has emerged in the 1970s, the phenomenon of burnout has received ever increasing attention both inside and outside academia. The prevalence of job burnout greatly varies across occupational sectors and countries (and according to the cut-offs used) but it is generally accepted that approximately 15% of workers will experience job burnout [3,4]. This is preoccupying as a considerable amount of research has linked burnout to deleterious outcomes for both the employee and the organization. Job burnout has important consequences for organizations: it has been associated with increased intention to leave [14], absenteeism [15], work-place accidents and injuries [16], reduced levels of performance [17] and decreased organizational commitment [6]. There is a crucial need for organizations to identify employees who are at risk to prevent burnout, as well as to intervene with those who already suffer from it
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