Individual, Organizational and Social Determinants of Managerial Burnout: Theoretical and Empirical Update

This chapter explores the moderating role of self-reported cognitions of social support in buffering burnout. It suggests that the measured level of burnout can be partially accounted for by organizational factors and job demands, that personality traits are also important determinants of it, and that the state of burnout can be moderated through the degree of social support provided. Psychological literature on occupational stress and burnout has focused on several categories of job and organizational stressors. Social support is of growing interest as a potential approach to alleviate job stress and burnout. Although it might seem evident that better support improves coping, the study of social support is a complex undertaking. A multiple-item computer-assisted questionnaire was administered on site and comprised organization/job assessment, personality trait assessment, social support assessment and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. In a similar manner, the moderating effects of social support as a function of the various personality dimensions was tested.