Communication and empathy as precursors to burnout among human service workers

Abstract

This research considers the role of communicative responsiveness, empathic concern, and emotional contagion as precursors to burnout among human service workers. Theory and research drawn from the areas of stress and burnout, empathy, and patient‐doctor communication are used to formulate a causal model of the burnout process. The model is tested with data from employees at a large psychiatric hospital. The results indicate that empathic concern leads to communicative responsiveness but that emotional contagion decreases responsiveness. Communicative responsiveness, in turn, leads to the prediction of three dimensions of burnout and occupational commitment. The implications of the model for theory and practice are discussed.