An Examination of the Correlates of Burnout in Information Systems Professionals

Abstract

The study examines the correlates of burnout in systems (IS) professionals. While there has been little previous research in the area of burnout among IS professionals, anecdotal evidence shows that burnout causes a negative impact on the peiformance of IS employees. These negative impacts can take the form of cynicism, dissatisfaction, and turnover (McGee, 1996). In this study we empirically examine the correlations of burnout with several work attributes that are considered to be either antecedents or consequences of burnout. Two role stressors are examined in this study -role ambiguity and role conflict. These variables are theorized to be antecedents of burnout. In addition, two dimensions of organizational commitment-affective and continuance commitment-are examined as possible consequences of burnout. The emotional exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory is used to measure burnout in 312 IS professionals. Both role stressors were found to co "elate positively with burnout. In addition, affective commitment was found to be negatively correlated and continuance commitment positively correlated with burnout.Job stress has been noted to be a key factor that can affect the performance and tenure of IS professionals. While little previous research has examined burnout in order to identify its antecedents and consequences among IS professionals, anecdotal evidence does suggest that burnout can have a significant impact on both the performance and commitment of IS employees.For example, McGee (1996) notes that burnout is the root cause of turnover among help-desk employees. In addition, she noted that burned-out help-desk analysts tended to take out their frustrations on the users they were trying to assist and that "burnout manifests itself in shortness with the customer; talking down to them" (p. 116).Other practical consequences of stress and burnout have also been identified in the psychology literature. Kahill (1988) grouped these consequences into five categories: physical, emotional, interpersonal, attitudinal, and behavioral. These

Managing work‐life conflict among information technology workers

“…For instance, Moore (2000) examined the lives of IT professionals and found that work overload was associated with work exhaustion, a significant predictor of turnover intentions. Sethi, Barrier, and King (1999) also found that work overload was associated with emotional exhaustion among IT workers. In addition, a recent study found that IT workers generally were much less likely to engage in organizational citizenship behaviors than their non-IT counterparts (Moore & Love, 2005).…”

Quality of working life and turnover intention in information technology work

“…Research has shown that emotional exhaustion (a core dimension of burnout) is linked to reduced job satisfaction (Burke & Greenglass, 1995;Maslach & Jackson, 1986;Pines, Aronson, & Kafry, 1981;Wolpin, Burke, & Greenglass, 1991); reduced organizational commitment (Jackson, Turner, & Brief, 1986;Leiter & Maslach, 1988;Sethi, Barrier, & King, 2004); and high turnover and turnover intention (Firth & Britton, 1989;Jackson et al, 1986). The research literature suggests that technology professionals are particularly vulnerable to work exhaustion (Kalimo & Toppinen, 1995;Moore, 2000a).…”

Entrepreneurship by Circumstances and Abilities: The Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction and Moderating Role of Self-Efficacy

“…IT professionals, specifically those in the software development fields are constantly plaque with the pressures to innovate and develop novel ideas. Job stressors such as work overload, role conflicts and role ambiguity are frequently associated with the IT profession (Li and Sham, 1991;Moore, 2000;Sethi et al, 1999), resulting in a reportedly high burnout levels among IT professionals compared to other occupations such as nurses and police (Huarng, 2001). Evidence in the literature also indicates that IT employees who experienced work stress and job burnouts tend to be dissatisfied with their jobs (Goodhue and Thompson, 1995;Li and Sham, 1991).…”