Job satisfaction and burnout among peer support specialists: the contributions of supervisory mentorship, recovery-oriented workplaces, and role clarity

ABSTRACT

Objective

This study evaluated whether supervisory mentorship contributed to peer support specialists’ job satisfaction and burnout via pathways of role clarity and psychological empowerment after accounting for effects of demographic and workplace characteristics. The study also evaluated whether the recovery-orientation of the workplace contributed to peers’ job satisfaction and burnout.

Method

Peer support specialists from the United States (N = 117) completed an online questionnaire containing established self-report measures and questions about demographic and workplace characteristics.

Results

Multiple regression analysis indicated the included variables accounted for 61.9% of variance (p < .001) in job satisfaction and that mentoring from supervisors and a recovery-oriented workplace significantly (ps < .05) predicted job satisfaction. In a second multiple regression analysis, included variables accounted for 28.7% of variance (p < .01) in emotional exhaustion (the emotional component of burnout), where role clarity significantly (p < .05) predicted less emotional exhaustion. Mediation analyses of the cross-sectional data did not support the hypothesis that aspects of the supervisory relationship contributed to job satisfaction and burnout through role clarity and psychological empowerment.

Discussion

Mentoring from supervisors and the recovery-orientation of the workplace contribute to peers’ job satisfaction after accounting for factors, including role clarity and supervisory working alliance. Improving supervisors’ mentoring skills and adopting a recovery-orientation in mental health settings may bolster peers’ job satisfaction. Increasing peers’ role clarity may reduce burnout. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify associations between factors that may facilitate role clarity and mitigate burnout among peers.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer support specialist
• job satisfaction
• burnout
• mentorship
• recovery

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate assistance with data collection from Kristen Hodge and Carrie Nantais.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Supervisor Education and Supervisor Discipline were not examined in bivariate and multivariate analyses due to the frequency of ‘don’t know’ responses. Job Settings were not examined in bivariate and multivariate analyses due to a large number of categories and no meaningful way to combine them.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by University of Detroit Mercy College of Liberal Arts and Education and Faculty Research Award Grants; University of Detroit Mercy Professors Union.