Previous studies have found that burnout is to some extent contagious and have argued it is a socially induced phenomenon. However, until now, actual social interactions and the long-term effect of this contagion have remained largely unexplored. This study aimed to expand earlier findings on burnout contagion through the application of a social network approach. This approach assumes that some relationships provide more information on the feelings and attitudes of others. This study therefore not only identified interaction partners, but also examined how characteristics (multiplexity, frequency, and embeddedness) of the relationship with those partners relate to burnout contagion. Using (temporal) network autocorrelation models, burnout contagion was empirically investigated in the context of secondary school teams. Cross-sectional analyses were performed on data obtained from 931 teachers working in 14 schools. Long-term effects of burnout contagion were assessed among 578 teachers working in 12 schools. The results showed that interpersonal interactions act as conduits for burnout contagion, especially when relations are strong in terms of frequency, embeddedness, and multiplexity. The results also showed that features of relationships play a differential role in the contagion of different components of burnout. Moreover, long-term effects were found for emotional exhaustion. This study thus provided evidence for the importance of interpersonal relationships in burnout contagion. Practitioner pointsNegative feelings are transmitted through personal interaction: As such, the importance of positive (social) experiences within the school team is stressed. Co-rumination should be avoided as it may impact negatively on employees' well-being in both the short term and the long term. Given the contagious nature of burnout, interventions for preventing and reducing burnout should not be solely focused on increasing social support within the school team. External support might be necessary to disrupt a potential negative cycle within this team.

No abstract

No abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The number of early career teachers leaving the profession continues to be an ongoing issue across the globe. This pressing concern has resulted in increased attention to the instructional and psychological conditions necessary to retain early career educators. However, less formal attention has been paid to the social infrastructure in which early career teachers find themselves. The purpose of this paper is to foreground the role of social capital and its effect on job attitudes and educators' intention to leave the profession. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from 736 teachers within ten secondary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Using social network and multilevel moderated mediation analysis techniques, the relationships between teachers' social connectedness, job attitudes, and the intention to leave the profession for both novice and experienced teachers were analyzed. Findings -Findings indicate that being socially connected to other educators within the school is associated with a reduction in teachers' intention to leave the profession, mediated by their job attitudes, for both early career and experienced teachers. However, social connectedness was significantly more important for early career teachers. No significant effects are found for being socially connected to the mentor. Originality/value -This study provides evidence for the importance of social capital for teachers, particularly early career educators. Moreover, by introducing teachers' social connectedness as related to intention to leave, this study makes a significant and unique contribution to the literature.

Research on teacher collaboration underlines the importance of a collaborative culture for teachers' functioning. However, while scholars usually regard collaborative culture as a school team characteristic, this study argues that subgroups may be more meaningful units of analysis to conceptualize and assess teachers' perceptions of collaborative culture. Based on the assumption that collaborative culture is developed, expressed, and maintained in frequent work-related interactions, this study hypothesizes that collaborative culture is not homogenously spread over the school but rather varies between informal subgroups. Data from 760 Flemish teachers were examined using social network analysis and consensus analyses. The results provided evidence that perceptions on collaborative culture are more homogeneous within informal subgroups that are characterized by frequent interactions than the entire school team. This finding stresses the importance of assessing the meaningful unit of analysis for collective-level and socially-constructed concepts, such as collaborative culture. Moreover, the benefits and potential of a social network approach to identify (socially stable) subunits within the school team are illustrated.