Mediating Effects of Upward Communications on the Relationship Between Team Autonomy and Burnout: A Study of Employees at Care Facilities in Japan

The objective of the present study is to elucidate whether upward communication has mediating effects on the relationship between team autonomy and burnout at Japanese care facilities. Data collected from 21 care facilities for the elderly in Tokyo from February to March 2015 were analyzed. The questionnaires were distributed to 719 workers, and 386 completed questionnaires were returned directly to the researcher (response rate was 53.69%). As a result of structural equation modeling, Sobel test, and bootstrap test, upward communication to immediate leaders and superiors did not mediate the relationships between team autonomy and three dimensions of burnout, while upward communication to senior leaders/superiors fully and partially mediated the relationships between team autonomy and emotional exhaustion and between team autonomy and depersonalization, respectively. Based on those findings, some academic implications are discussed, and some practical implications for management to mitigate burnout are presented.