Worklife and Burnout in the Concrete Industry - Part 1: Applying Structural Equation Modeling to Examine the Relationship Between Worklife and Burnout

Abstract

Concrete industry professionals operate in a fast-paced andhigh volume niche of the construction industry. Concrete is one of the most commonlyused materials in the construction industry and keeping up with demand often requiresworking long hours under stressful and dangerous conditions (Alvanchi, Lee, & AbouRizk, 2012; Bowen, Edwards,Lingard, & Cattell, 2014; Leung, Chan, & Olomolaiye, 2008; Maslach& Leiter, 1997; Yang, Li, Song, & Li, 2018). In this study, theresearchers used the Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) and Maslach BurnoutInventory (MBI) to investigate factors contributing to burnout forprofessionals in the concrete industry. The internal consistency was tested foreach of the dimensions of the AWS and MBI. Structural equation modeling wasapplied to analyze the structural relationships between the dimensions of the AWSand MBI. The results showed that respondents experienced heavy workloads and,subsequently, elevated exhaustion, cynicism, and high professional efficacy. This is Part 1 of a 2 article series that examines theworklife and burnout phenomena for the concrete industry.