Culture-informed Influence of Job Autonomy on Burnout: Power Distance Orientation as A Moderator

Abstract

Job autonomy, as a job resource, is expected to yield beneficial effects for employees. We examine job autonomy’s relationship to burnout and propose three mediators that explain its effect. Further, considering the diversified workplace, we argue that how job autonomy affects burnout depends on individuals’ levels of power distance orientation (PDO). Tested with a combined sample of individuals from three countries – the U.S., China, and Brazil –, we found that job autonomy is generally beneficial to reducing burnout, but that individuals with lower PDO benefit more than individuals with higher PDO. More specifically, we found that PDO moderates the relationship between job autonomy and three role stressors – role conflicts, ambiguity and overload. In addition, our study found that people with different levels of PDO experience different processes of job autonomy – burnout relation. Supplemental analyses suggest that country contexts have significant influences on some of the hypothesized relationships.