Burnout among accounting and finance academics in Ireland

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the levels of burnout experienced by accounting and finance academics in Ireland.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this cross‐sectional survey study were collected from 100 accounting and finance academics teaching in Irish third level institutions. Independent sample t‐tests, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and step‐wise multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data.

Findings

Results indicate that the majority of accounting and finance academics experience low or average burnout with regard to emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation but encounter a high degree of burnout with regard to personal accomplishment. While none of the background or workload variables captured in the study explain variation in the levels of burnout experienced, some aspects of job satisfaction are significant predictors of the three dimensions of burnout.

Research limitations/implications

The cross‐sectional design of this study does not allow causal inferences to be made. Furthermore, since all data were self‐reported, it is possible that common method variance may be an issue. Despite these limitations, results suggest that increasing faculty members’ job satisfaction can be a useful strategy for preventing academic burnout.

Originality/value

This is the first study to examine the issue of burnout among academics in an Irish context. Moreover, it is one of the few studies, which has explored the phenomenon of burnout among university faculty members.

Citation

Byrne, M., Chughtai, A., Flood, B., Murphy, E. and Willis, P. (2013), "Burnout among accounting and finance academics in Ireland", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 127-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541311297513