The Investigation of the Relationship Between Academics' Person-Organization Fit and Burnout Levels

Abstract

The main purpose of the current study is to determine whether there is a relationship between the burnout syndrome which is related to many organizational factors and the person-organization fit which refers to the quality, value and structure compatibility between the person and the organization, and whether this relationship, if any, differs significantly based on various demographic variables. Within the framework of this aim, a scale was applied to 393 academics working in higher education institutions located in Istanbul. The data collection tools used in the study are “Person-Organization Fit Scale” developed by Cable and Judge (1997), and “Maslach Burnout Inventory” developed by Maslach and Jackson (1981). During the analysis of the data gathered through scales, arithmetic mean, frequency, and descriptive values such as standard deviation were used as well as t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and regression. The results of the research showed that the person-organization fit levels of academicians working at foundation or state universities in Turkey were high, the levels of burnout were low in the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization sub-dimensions of burnout, and the level of personal accomplishment sub-dimension of burnout was moderate. In this study, it was found that the person-organization fit levels of academics differ significantly in terms of gender and weekly course load variables. According to the results of the research, a significant difference was obtained at burnout levels of academics in terms of their weekly course load, academic titles, whether they have any administrative duties and gender variables. In addition, there is a significant relationship between academics' person-organization fit and burnout levels.