Burnt to a crisp? Understanding drivers of burnout amongst New Zealand workers

Abstract

Purpose

Job burnout is a popular topic for researchers and a pressing issue for employees and employers. However, the most popular measure has become widely critiqued, and a new construct – the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) – has been offered as a better way to assess burnout.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses data from 1,022 employees across a wide range of occupations, sectors and industries. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and odds ratio calculations are explored.

Findings

The present psychometric properties of the BAT construct are supported. Overall, 11.1% of employees met the high burnt-out risk threshold. Determinants of burnt-out risk were explored, with significant findings from high perceptions of organizational support, large firm-size, young age and long work hours found. No gender differences. The odds ratio provides greater insights into the risks associated with factors, especially working 55+ hours/week, which resulted in 580% higher risk of burnt-out risk.

Research limitations/implications

The findings highlight the danger of burnt-out risk and provide a useful benchmark for those exploring the burnt-out risk rate.

Originality/value

The BAT has not been tested in New Zealand across a sample of employees. Given the large size and breadth of employees, this provides useful generalizability to the BAT-NZ. The determinants tested here are all unique to the literature and provide new insights.

Citation

Haar, J. (2022), "Burnt to a crisp? Understanding drivers of burnout amongst New Zealand workers", Evidence-based HRM, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp. 174-188. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-07-2021-0132