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The Impact of Social Support on Work Stress and Job Burnout

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 The Impact of Social Support on Work Stress and Job
Burnout

Huaqing Wang

School of Business, Emporia State University (USA)

Abstract

We show empirical evidence to support organizational training directors in their

decisions to incorporate the right training content in their training programs to assist
employees with the coping strategies to alleviate job-related stress and burnout
syndromes.

Keywords: Coping Strategies, Stress, Burnout, Social Support.

Introduction and Literature Review

Job Stress and Coping

Research has indicated that excessive stressful events and the hassles of daily

living are etiological factors in many physical and psychological problems (Dohrenwend

& Dohrenwend, 1974; Rabkin & Struening, 1976; Thoits, 1983). Counselors have

therefore promoted helping persons manage stress effectively with the development and

evaluation of psychological interventions to alter maladaptive behaviors (Romano, 1984).

Although an adequate amount of job stress motivates us to meet deadlines, strive

to hit sales or production targets, or line up new clients, problems occur when stress is so

overwhelming or constant that the tension never abates and we never get to relax. When

the challenges and demands of work become excessive, when the pressures of the

workplace surpass workers’ abilities to handle them, when satisfaction becomes

frustration and exhaustion, job stress arises. In addition, when stress crosses the line

from normal to excessive, it can trigger physical and emotional responses that are

harmful to employees and businesses alike. And unfortunately, for many people “stress”

has become synonymous with “work.”

Workplace stress is usually the result of high demands on the job, real or

perceived lack of control concerning those demands, poor day-to-day organization and

communication, and an unsupportive work environment. Factors that lead to job stress

are: (1) Work-related factors, e.g., excessive workload, tedious or meaningless tasks,

infrequent rest breaks, etc., (2) Physical environment, e.g., noise and overcrowding, poor

air quality, health and safety risks, etc., (3) Organizational practices, e.g., unclear

responsibilities or expectations, conflicting job demands, inefficient communication

patterns, etc., (4) Workplace change, e.g., fear of layoff, frequent personnel turnover,

poor chances for advancement or promotion, lack of preparation for technological

changes, etc., (5) Interpersonal relationships, e.g., poor performance from subordinates,

office politics, competition, and other conflicts among staff., problems caused by

excessive time away from family etc. (Weiss, 1983).

When job stress takes shape, it often results in certain physiological and

psychological changes in the body that disrupt one’s equilibrium or “homeostasis”

(Adams, 1980). The chain of events that leads to the re-establishment of equilibrium in

the individual involves the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system. These

systems together create a number of interrelated changes in the body, including the

speeding up of the cardiovascular functions and the slowing down of gastrointestinal

functions, thus equipping an individual to fight or take flight. The frequent triggering of

2
this response over prolonged periods of time strains the person’s system, increasing the

risk of illness or emotional dysfunction. This increases the likelihood that latent disease

and emotional distress will become manifest.

The process of reducing the perceived imbalance between demands and the ability

to deal with the ensuing distress is defined as coping (Lazarus, 1993, 1999). Research on

occupational stress has suggested that coping is part of the person–environment

transaction that takes place when an individual appraises the situation as taxing or

demanding (Cooper, Dewe, & O’Driscoll, 2001; Dewe, Cox, & Ferguson, 1993; Latack

& Havlovic, 1992).

Lazarus and Folkman (1984) defined coping as the conscious use of cognitive or

behavioral strategies to reduce perceived stress. Furthermore, they differentiated between

“problem-focused” and “emotion-focused” coping strategies. In more recent studies,

Anshel (2000) described these as “approach” and “avoidance” coping strategies.

According to Anshel (2000) and Dewe et al. (1993) “approach” or “problem-focused”

strategies are used to control the situation or improve one’s resources in the hope of

reducing the imbalance. On the other hand, “avoidance” or “emotion-focused” strategies

are used in an attempt to reduce the emotional strain experienced.

Burnout

Burnout is defined as a psychological response to work-related stress (Maslach,

1982; Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Moreover, burnout is generally linked to

costly increases in turnover, absenteeism, and reduced productivity for the individual and

the organization (Maslach, & Leiter, 1997). One can also distinguish several other

negative outcomes of burnout by relating both to the persons affected and to the

3
institutions in which they are employed. These include lower job satisfaction and

motivation, increased risk of health impairments, social conflicts, both in and out of

work, as well as lower efficiency of the affiliated institutions, higher level of job turnover

and dropout (Appels & Schouten, 1991; Firth & Britton, 1989; Maslach, 1982; Wolpin &

Greenglass., 1991).

As Maslach (1982) suggested, burnout consists of three conceptual dimensions:

(a) emotional exhaustion, (b) depersonalization, and (c) diminished personal

accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion is described as individuals who are experiencing

stressors approaching, or beyond, their comfortable limits. Depersonalization is

described as individuals who tend to distance self from others, and who see people as

things or objects. Personal accomplishment is defined as individuals who believe they

are doing well on a job that is worth doing. This multidimensional model is not without

critics of its structure (Garden, 1987), but is widely accepted and used in research

concerning burnout.

Within the burnout literature, Hobfoll’s (1989, 1998; Hobfoll & Freedy, 1993)

Conservation of Resources (COR) model has emerged as the leading model for

understanding the processes leading to burnout (Halbesleben & Buckley, 2004; Shirom,

2003). The model suggests that burnout occurs when certain valued resources are lost,

are inadequate to meet demands, or do not yield the anticipated returns. The major

demands of work include role ambiguity, role conflict, stressful events, heavy workload,

and pressure. The major resources include social support from various sources; job

enhancement opportunities, such as control, participation in decision making, and

autonomy; and reinforcement contingencies (Burke & Richardsen, 1993; Cordes &

4
Dougherty, 1993). The model also states that certain behavioral and attitudinal outcomes

arc likely to occur as a result of resource loss and burnout. The major outcomes include

behavioral coping responses; turnover intentions; and erosion of organizational

commitment, job involvement, and job satisfaction (Burke & Richardsen, 1993; Kahili,

1988).

Using the conservation of resources framework, studies have investigated how

certain demand and resource predictors are associated with each of the three burnout

dimensions (Lee & Ashforth, 1993; Leiter, 1993; Leiter & Maslach, 1988). Leiter and

Maslach (1988) suggested that work demands and resources are potential sources of

stress in the stress-coping and self-evaluation process (Cummings & Cooper, 1979;

Lazarus et al., 1984). Emotional exhaustion as a form of strain is directly affected by

these correlates, whereas depersonalization as a form of defensive coping and personal

accomplishment as a form of self-evaluation are indirectly affected through emotional

exhaustion.

Leiter (1993) also posits how the burnout dimensions themselves may be

interrelated (cf. Golembiewski, 1989; Leiter, 1989). Specifically, it is now believed that

both emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment develop in parallel to (rather

than following from) one another. Hence, both of these dimensions are posited to be

“reactions to different aspects of the work environment that pose difficulties for human

service workers” (Leiter, 1993, p. 246).

Social Support

The nature, sources, and effects of social support on burnout have received

considerable attention from researchers in the social and behavioral sciences (see reviews

5
by Berkman, 1984; Cohen & Syme, 1985; Coyne & Downey, 1991; Kessler, Price, &

Wortman, 1985). This multidisciplinary attention has led to numerous and varied

definitions and measures of social support (see also review by House & Kahn, 1985).

Four primary types of support can be derived from these numerous taxonomies (Cohen

&Wills, 1985). These are (a) affective support (elsewhere referred to as esteem support

or emotional support), which provides the recipient with feelings of being accepted and

cared for; (b) informational support, which involves the provision of advice or guidance;

(c) instrumental support (also referred to as tangible aid), which involves material

assistance in response to specific needs; and (d) social companionship (or having people

to do things with), which is often operationalized by measuring the size of the

respondent’s social network (Mueller, 1980).

Several competing process mechanisms have been advanced to explain the role of

social support in the stressor–strain relationship (cf. Cohen & Wills, 1985; Osipow &

Davis, 1988). Three models (i.e., direct, mediating, and moderating) of the effects of

social support on the stressor–strain relationship have been postulated and empirically

investigated.

Direct effect model of social support postulates that social support reduces the

level of strain regardless of the intensity of the stressors experienced (e.g., Beehr, 1985;

Cohen et al., 1985; Eisenberger, Fasolo, & Davis-LaMastro, 1990; Eisenberger,

Huntington, Hutchinson, & Sowa, 1986; Sullivan & Bhagat, 1992; Singh et al. 2017).

The moderating model (e.g., Kirmeyer & Dougherty, 1988; LaRocco, et al., 1980; Singh

et al. 2017) states that social support interacts with stressors to affect strains; specifically,

the relationship between stressor and strain is thought to be stronger for those individuals

6
with low levels of support. A mediating model (Beehr & McGrath, 1992) postulates that

stressors mediate the support–strain relationship. In other words, if stressors are

partialled out, the correlation between support and strain will drop to zero. Viswesvaran,

Sanchez, & Fisher (1999) conducted a meta-analysis of the role of social support in the

process of work stress and tested which model is least supported by empirical evidence.

They found that the available data seemed to support the coexistence of both the direct

and moderating effects models, whereas evidence for mediational effects of social

support on the process of work stress was weak. They concluded that social support had

a threefold effect on work stressor–strain relations. Social support reduced the strains

experienced, social support mitigated perceived stressors, and social support moderated

the stressor–strain relationship.

Linking Social Support, Stress, and Burnout

Studies have provided encouraging evidence for an association between social

support, job stress, and worker health (Dejonge, Jansen, & Vanbreukelen, 1996; Johnson

& Hall, 1988; Karasek, Triantis, & Chaudhry, 1982; Wen et al. 2018). Specifically,

workers reporting low job demands, favorable combinations of autonomy and task

complexity, and high coworker support have shown lower rates of certain health

problems compared to all other groups.

Hendrix et al. (1988) examined the effects of job and life support on the

relationships between job and life stress and burnout. Their study revealed that for both

men and women, job stress and life stress correlated positively with burnout, while job

and life support were negatively correlated with burnout. The hypothesis that social

support would moderate stress-burnout relationships was not supported. Neither job

7
support nor life support moderated job stress or life stress-burnout relationships. Women

exhibited significantly higher levels of burnout, job stress, and life stress than men;

however, there was no difference between men and women in the amount of social

support received. The implication of the study was twofold. First, considering that the

moderating effect of social support on the stress-burnout relationship is of such a small

magnitude, its effect is of little practical consequence. Instead the benefit of social

support is its direct effect in reducing stress and reducing burnout. Second, the study also

suggests that since men and women reported the same amount of job and life support

while females experience higher levels of job stress, life stress, and burnout,

differentiating sex differences in identification of stressors would assist in designing

intervention programs that deal with stress and burnout more effectively.

Ross et al. (1989) investigated the effects of stressful job experiences and social

support on burnout among counseling center staff. In their study, social support was

examined from four sources: supervisor, co-worker, spouse, and friends/relatives. It was

found that social support from supervisors and colleagues was associated with lower

levels of burnout but did not serve a buffering function, whereas support from spouses

and friends/relatives had no significant influence on burnout in an organizational setting.

They also found that age, experience, marital status, along with particular support forms

(i.e., reassurance, reliable alliance, opportunity for nurturance) were related with lower

levels of burnout. They concluded that job demands need to be evaluated in terms of

implications for the person who receives certain forms of social support from various

differential relational sources.

8
 Koniarek and Dudek (1996) investigated the influence of social support in the

workplace and general social support on relationships between global stress and stress

related to role conflict, ambiguity, and overload and burnout components (emotional

exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). Their results indicate that

burnout level correlates highly with organizational and global stress. The role of social

support in determining the level of particular burnout components varied according to the

type and scope of support. No reliable correlation was found between emotional

exhaustion and social support of any type. The level of depersonalization was related

only to general support (family and friends) whereas a personal accomplishment factor

was related to both general support and workplace support. However, the study did not

reveal a buffering effect of both types of social support on the relationships between

stress and components of burnout.

Ducharme and Martin (2000) assessed the effects of co-work support on job

satisfaction, with a particular focus on instrumental and affective co-worker support.

They argued that workgroup interactions, especially social support received from

coworkers, may significantly contribute to job satisfaction, productivity and well being.

Their data were clear in at least two major aspects. First, affective and instrumental

support operate in a parallel fashion; both contribute significantly to explanations of

workers’ affective reactions to their job demands; and they complement rather than

substitute for one another. Second, both forms of social support are beneficial regardless

of the amount of job stress a worker encounters and therefore enhance the job satisfaction

of all employees including those in the most rewarding jobs. However, neither of the two

types of social support appears to buffer the negative effects of job stress on job

9
satisfaction. They concluded that systematic efforts to promote both affiliative and

practical ties among coworkers will enhance worker affect and may ultimately improve

job performance.

Halbesleben (2006) found that social support, as a resource, did not yield different

relationships across the three burnout dimensions (emotional exhaustion,

depersonalization, and personal accomplishment). However, when considering the

source of the social support (work vs. non-work) as a moderator, it was found that work-

related sources of social support, because of its more direct relationship to work demands,

was more closely associated with exhaustion than depersonalization or personal

accomplishment. The opposite pattern was found with non-work sources of support.

There were two implications suggested at the end of the article by the author. First,

different sources of social support (e.g., emotional, instrumental, and informational

support) may have different effects on each of the three components of burnout, and a

future analysis of this nature could shed light on how those types of resources interact

with dimensions of burnout. Second, gender may act as a potential moderator to the

relationship between social support and burnout. It is important that future researchers

account for the role of gender when exploring the relationships between support and

burnout.

In sum, the effects of social support on reducing burnout are stronger when social

support is conceptualized as coming from different sources and being delivered in

different forms than when social support is considered as a general construct. Moreover,

empirical support for the buffering effect of social support on work stress and burnout is

not strong enough to reach a definitive conclusion. Lastly, the current literature review

10
seems to support the coexistence of both the direct- and moderating-effect models

(Viswesvaran et. al., 1999).

Methodology

The study will be conducted in a Mid-western university. Participants are mainly

registered undergraduate students in the Department of Communication Studies. The

bottom-line criterion for selecting subject is job experience, i.e., students who have

previous work experiences in companies or are currently doing part-time jobs will be

included in this survey. Participants are also encouraged to invite their working parents,

relatives or friends to take part in the survey. In this way, the sample size will be

adequately expanded and the diversity of demographic information will add more

variances to the data analysis. In addition, the survey questionnaires are filled out

anonymously and voluntarily to protect participants’ privacy. Students who take part in

this survey will be guaranteed extra credits to their total semester grade, and out-

department participants will be given a small gift symbolizing the researcher’s gratitude

for their participation.

Work Stress Scale for Correctional Officers (WSSCO)

WSSCO is a self report instrument and consists of 35 items referring to the effects

of given conditions upon the workers (Durak, Durak-Şenol, & Gençöz, 2003). The scale

is scored on a 5-point Likert type scale ranging from 0 (it has no effect at all) to 4 (it has

a very strong effect). Items of WSSCO were originally developed by interviewing 15

correctional officers on the potential stressful conditions in their work environment.

Those participants were asked 13 open-ended questions related with their job, such as

“what are your feelings and thoughts about your job?”, “what are the difficulties you

11
encounter in your job?” Following the interview, the answers were sorted out with the

joint agreement of three psychologists with at least master’s degrees. In case of any

discrepancies among the psychologists, these were carefully discussed and then resolved.

The number (i.e., the number of individuals who referred to a certain thematic unit) and

frequency (i.e., the total number of reference to each thematic unit) of each statement

were considered while the forming of the scale items. Consequently, on the basis of the

themes, which have high number and frequency values, 35 items were generated. On the

basis of their contents, these 35 items can be grouped under five different categories,

namely “work overload,” “role conflict and role ambiguity,” “inadequacies in physical

conditions of prison,” “threat perception,” and “general problems.” The internal

consistency coefficients range from .70 to .94. For the details of the process related to

the development of this scale, see Durak et al.’s study.

Maslach Burnout Instrument (MBI)

The Maslach et al. (1996) inventory manual, containing the Maslach Burnout

Instrument (MBI), is used. The construct consists of 22 items from the “Educators

Survey” (Maslach et al., 1996). Several items were modified slightly to apply

specifically to conditions within the university. The items asked “how often do you feel

this way” on a 0 to 6 scale, with 0 representing never and 6 representing every day.

Exploratory factor analysis of the 22 items loaded onto the three dimensions of burnout,

as expected. Maslach et al. (1996) reported alpha coefficients to range from .71 to .90 for

the three subscales. The measure also appears to be valid; burnout scores have been

found to increase in stressful job settings and to predict turnover and absenteeism

(Maslach, 1982).

12
Utrecht Coping List(UCL )

The Utrecht Coping List (UCL), developed by Schreurs, van de Willege,

Brosschot, Tellegen & Graus (1993), was a validated questionnaire measuring five

different habitual coping styles: Emotional coping (2 items, Cronbach’s a =.65),

Avoidant coping (3 items, Cronbach’s a = .67), Palliative coping (4 items, Cronbach’s a

= .68), Problem-focused coping (5 items, Cronbach’s a = .81), and Social coping (5

items, Cronbach’s a = .77) (Schreurs et al ., 1993). The 4-point response scale ranges

from ‘rarely or never’ (1) to ‘very often’ (4). High scores indicate a high tendency to

apply the specified coping style.

Social Support

Two different types of social support measures were included in the

questionnaire. First, a measure (House & Wells, 1978) that focused on support received

from different members of the social network in the context of job-related stress was

administered to yield indexes of social support from four sources (supervisors,

coworkers, spouse, and friends/relatives). This measure appears to be quite reliable;

alpha coefficients that range from .75 to .92 have been reported for the four subscales. A

series of studies at the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan have

supported the validity of this measure to predict reactions to job-related stress across a

variety of occupations (see review by House, 1981). Studies of job related stress and

burnout among public school teachers and nurses have also supported the validity of this

measure of social support, with supervisor support found to be a significant predictor of

burnout in both populations.

13
 Respondents also completed the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona & Russell,

1987; Russell & Cutrona, 1989). This measure, designed to assess the extent to which

the person's current social relationships provide the six relational provisions described by

Weiss (1974), encompasses the major components of models of social support (e.g.,

Caplan, 1974; Cobb, 1976; Cohen & McKay, 1984; Kahn, 1979). These social

provisions are: (a) attachment, provided by relationships where a person receives a sense

of security and safety; (b) social integration, provided by relationships in which persons

share interests and concerns; (c) reassurance of worth, provided by relationships in which

a person's skills and abilities are acknowledged; (d) guidance, provided by relationships

with trustworthy and authoritative persons who provide advice; (e) reliable alliance,

derived from relationships in which a person can count on others for assistance under any

circumstances; and (f) opportunity for nurturance, derived from relationships in which a

person is responsible for the well-being of another.

Previous research has supported the reliability of the Social Provisions Scale, with

alpha coefficients that range from .65 to .76 for 4-item subscales that measure each

provision (Cutrona & Russell, 1987; Russell & Cutrona, 1989). The Social Provisions

Scale also appears to be a valid measure of social support. Significant relations have been

reported between social provision scores and measures of a person's social network,

satisfaction with different types of social relationships, and loneliness (Russell, Cutrona,

Rose, & Yurko, 1984). Other research has indicated that scores on the Social Provisions

Scale predict subsequent physical and mental health in several stressful contexts (for a

review see Cutrona et al., 1987). Of particular relevance to this investigation, previous

studies of job-related stress have found scores on the Social Provisions Scale to predict

14
burnout among teachers and nurses (Constable & Russell, 1986; Cutrona et al., 1987;

Russell et al., 1987).

Control variables

I will include gender, age, race, number of years, and personality as control

variables. Men and women experience burnout differently in that they do not share the

same environmental vulnerabilities to burnout components, with the particular

vulnerabilities being dependent on their job levels (see Pretty, McCarthy, & Catano,

1992).

The older one becomes, and the longer one’s work experience, the greater the

chance of being able to cope with the stresses of a workplace, particularly if one stays at

the same job for considerable time. Although these two factors, age and experience, go

hand in hand, each can be viewed by itself and a number of studies have done that with

regard to burnout. Hills, Francis, and Rutledge (2004) reported that age was a negative

predictor of depersonalization, suggesting that age controls the tendency to dehumanize

the perception of others. A meta-analysis of studies dealing with burnout and age or

years of experience revealed a small negative correlation between age of the employee

and emotional exhaustion (Brewer & Shapard, 2004).

The relationship between burnout and race has yet to be sufficiently explored.

Some evidence, however, indicates a relationship between burnout and race. Salyers and

Bond (2001), for example, found that compared to Caucasians, African Americans

reported significantly less emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but the two races

did not differ on levels of personal accomplishments. In addition, a study of job attitudes

15
of White, African American, and Hispanic nurses claimed that Whites reported higher

levels of job burnout than did African American (Lankau & Scandura, 1996).

The number of years that one has spent on a job should have a bearing on one’s

ability to cope with its psychological demands. In general, the longer one has worked at

a job, the greater ought to be one’s ability to cope with its demands. Although this

sounds logical, the empirical evidence on it reveals mixed results. The meta-analysis of

studies dealing with the relationship between burnout and age or years of experience

conducted by Brewer et al. (2004) concluded that there is possibly a small negative

correlation between years of experience in a field and emotional exhaustion.

Studies examining personality traits suggest that individual differences may exert

some sort of influence on burnout (e.g. Brookings, Bolton, Brown, & McEvoy, 1985;

Johnson & Stone, 1986). Ghorpade, Lackritz, and Singh (2007) found evidence that (a)

emotional exhaustion is negatively related to extroversion and emotional stability; (b)

depersonalization is negatively related to agreeableness and emotional stability; and (c)

personal accomplishments are positively related to extroversion, conscientiousness,

agreeableness, and emotional stability. Studies also suggest that personality traits

influence coping strategies (Sandal, Groenningsaeter, Eriksen, Gravraakmo, Birkeland,

Ursin, 1998). McCrae and Costa Jr. (1986) found correlations between the use of

specific coping mechanisms and the personality traits. Based on the above argument, the

NEO Five-Factor Inventory, developed by Costa and McCrae (1996) will be employed in

this study. The instrument contains 12 items for each dimension. The participants will

use a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) to indicate the

degree to which the item described them. Four items were reverse coded for both

16
Neuroticism and Extraversion. Higher scores indicate a greater degree of each

dimension. The Cronbach alpha coefficients were .80 (Extraversion), .76

(Agreeableness), and .85 (Neuroticism), .80 (Openness), .78 (Conscientiousness).

Application

The results will have important implications for intervention programs to prevent

job-related burnout among working staff, suggesting the sources and forms of support

that ought to be the focus of such programs. For example, in companies where structure

and hierarchy are emphasized, productivity improvement is, to a large extent, contingent

upon reinforcing positive work morale. Support from co-workers or supervisors will

have distinctive levels of effect on the morale. Some studies (e.g., Ross et al., 1989) have

shown that support from supervisors is significantly related with all three dimensions of

burnout. If that is the case, the role that a supervisor plays will be of key concerns to

intervention program planners who aim to coordinate organizational relationship and

resources.

Another avenue for application of this research will be in organizational training

programs. On the one hand, such programs can coach new staff with appropriate

knowledge of organizational functions and day-to-day intra-organizational

communication skills; on the other hand, these training programs should also teach those

“newbies” relevant job-related knowledge, keeping them in pace with the most updated

technology development and further lessening their anxieties about the unknown. In this

way, the newly-enrolled staff can have a quick jump start at their work, improve their

work efficiency and hence the efficiency of the whole organization.

17
 Furthermore, supervisors who intend to provide support to their subordinates can

also benefit from this study by choosing appropriate forms of provision. It is known that

delivering and receiving concrete social support may not always alleviate the distress of

others, but delivering and receiving the desired social support will often achieve the

optimal goal. If the supervisors possess a repertoire of sufficient forms of support (i.e.,

social integration, reassurance of worth, guidance, reliable alliance, etc.) and know the

differentiating effects of each support provision on each dimension of burnout, then

symptoms of the subordinate’s burnout will be greatly minimized and the organizational

management will be optimized.

In sum, from the standpoint of industrial policy, the implications of these findings

are easily translated. Attempts to increase worker force productivity on a purely social

level (e.g., via company-sponsored picnics, parties, and other social activities) are not

unimportant. However, these activities may be even more beneficial when combined

with efforts aimed at building effective work teams that enhance supervisor and

coworkers’ abilities and opportunities to provide on-the job assistance, advice, and

information. Better appreciation of the structure of interactions between workgroup

members may guide managers in building work teams with a suitable mix of skills and

abilities; in turn, workgroup composition may facilitate a worker’s access to the

beneficial aspects of practical support when work demands exceed an individual’s ability

to fulfill his or her job requirements. In other words, these analyses suggest that

systematic efforts to promote both affiliative and practical ties among coworkers and

supervisors will enhance worker affect and may ultimately improve job performance.

Although more research remains to be done before we fully understand the beneficial

18
effects of these distinct forms of social support for worker morale, the current analyses

represent an important first step toward this goal.

Limitations

The current model does not consider the effects of gender, age, race, length of

working, and personality on the strength of the causal links. Men and women experience

burnout differently in that they do not share the same environmental vulnerabilities to

burnout components, with the particular vulnerabilities being dependent on their job

levels (see Pretty, McCarthy, & Catano, 1992).

The older one becomes, and the longer one’s work experience, the greater the

chance of being able to cope with the stresses of a workplace, particularly if one stays at

the same job for considerable time. Although these two factors, age and experience, go

hand in hand, each can be viewed by itself and a number of studies have done that with

regard to burnout. Hills, Francis, and Rutledge (2004) reported that age was a negative

predictor of depersonalization, suggesting that age controls the tendency to dehumanize

the perception of others. A meta-analysis of studies dealing with burnout and age or

years of experience revealed a small negative correlation between age of the employee

and emotional exhaustion (Brewer & Shapard, 2004).

The relationship between burnout and race has yet to be sufficiently explored.

Some evidence, however, indicates a relationship between burnout and race. Salyers and

Bond (2001), for example, found that compared to Caucasians, African Americans

reported significantly less emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, but the two races

did not differ on levels of personal accomplishments. In addition, a study of job attitudes

19
of White, African American, and Hispanic nurses claimed that Whites reported higher

levels of job burnout than did African American (Lankau & Scandura, 1996).

The number of years that one has spent on a job should have a bearing on one’s

ability to cope with its psychological demands. In general, the longer one has worked at

a job, the greater ought to be one’s ability to cope with its demands. Although this

sounds logical, the empirical evidence on it reveals mixed results. The meta-analysis of

studies dealing with the relationship between burnout and age or years of experience

conducted by Brewer et al. (2004) concluded that there is possibly a small negative

correlation between years of experience in a field and emotional exhaustion.

Studies examining personality traits suggest that individual differences may exert

some sort of influence on burnout (e.g. Brookings, Bolton, Brown, & McEvoy, 1985;

Johnson & Stone, 1986). Ghorpade, Lackritz, and Singh (2007) found evidence that (a)

emotional exhaustion is negatively related to extroversion and emotional stability; (b)

depersonalization is negatively related to agreeableness and emotional stability; and (c)

personal accomplishments are positively related to extroversion, conscientiousness,

agreeableness, and emotional stability. Studies also suggest that personality traits

influence coping strategies (Sandal, Groenningsaeter, Eriksen, Gravraakmo, Birkeland,

Ursin, 1998). McCrae and Costa Jr. (1986) found correlations between the use of

specific coping mechanisms and the personality traits.

20
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