Perceived collective burnout: a multilevel explanation of burnout

Abstract

Building up on the socially induced model of burnout and the job demands–resources model, we examine how burnout can transfer without direct contagion or close contact among employees. Based on the social information processing approach and the conservation of resources theory, we propose that perceived collective burnout emerges as an organizational-level construct (employees’ shared perceptions about how burned out are their colleagues) and that it predicts individual burnout over and above indicators of demands and resources. Data were gathered during the first term and again during the last term of the academic year among 555 teachers from 100 schools. The core dimensions of burnout, exhaustion, and cynicism were measured at the individual and collective level. Random coefficient models were computed in a lagged effects design. Results showed that perceived collective burnout at Time 1 was a significant predictor of burnout at Time 2 after considering previous levels of burnout, demands (workload, teacher–student ratio, and absenteeism rates), and resources (quality of school facilities). These findings suggest that perceived collective burnout is an important characteristic of the work environment that can be a significant factor in the development of burnout.

Keywords:

• burnout
• collective burnout
• multilevel
• exhaustion
• cynicism
• demands
• resources

Acknowledgements

This article has been sponsored by Generalitat Valenciana under its program groups of R+D+I (Group 03/195). The authors are grateful for the financial support of the Spanish Agency of Education and Science (CONSOLIDER Eje C project SEJ2006-14086). The contribution of the first author was supported by a grant from the Spanish State Department of Universities and Research (Secretaría de Estado de Universidades e Investigación) (AP2001-3445). The authors thank Dr Lois E. Tetrick and Dr Seth Kaplan for their comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.