| dc.description.abstract | Existentially inclined researchers define burnout as a form of existential vacuum that is
characterized by apathy, boredom and lack of interest in relationships. Recent studies have
witnessed a shift towards positive perspective that rephrases job burnout as the erosion of work
engagement. It conceptualizes the way people relate psychologically with their jobs as a continuum
between the negative experience of burnout and the positive one of engagement and fulfillment.
Engagement predicts workers’ outcomes, organizational success, and financial performance. The
changing psychological contract at the work place has majority of employees either not fully
engaged or disengaged leading to an engagement gap that is a recipe for burnout. In research,
burnout has been related to many person-specific variables. Two of these, existential fulfillment and
work engagement have received little attention in research. This paper explores the relationships
between existential fulfillment, engagement and burnout, as well as the contribution of the first two
concepts to burnout. In a cross-sectional survey a random sample was drawn (n = 106) from a
population of high school teachers. They were given a questionnaire that included demographic,
existential fulfillment, burnout and engagement items. 89 respondents (which constituted a response
rate of 84%) filled the questionnaire. The average age was 34 years and 60 percent of respondents
were female. Participants had been in their current station for an average of four years and had on
average 12 years of work experience. Existential fulfillment was positively correlated with
engagement and both variables negatively correlated to burnout. These findings have significant
implications for positive organizational behaviour and human resource development. It also
demonstrates the importance of work engagement and existential fulfillment for the prevalence and
prevention of burnout. | en_US |
