Does job burnout mediate negative effects of job demands on mental and physical health in a group of teachers? Testing the energetic process of Job Demands-Resources model

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the direct and indirect -mediated by job burnout -effects of job demands on mental and physical health problems. The Job Demands-Resources model was the theoretical framework of the study. Three job demands were taken into account -interpersonal conflicts at work, organizational constraints and workload. Indicators of mental and physical health problems included depression and physical symptoms, respectively. Material and Methods: Three hundred and sixteen Polish teachers from 8 schools participated in the study. The hypotheses were tested with the use of tools measuring job demands (Interpersonal Conflicts at Work, Organizational Constraints, Quantitative Workload), job burnout (the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory), depression (the Beck Hopelessness Scale), and physical symptoms (the Physical Symptoms Inventory). The regression analysis with bootstrapping, using the PROCESS macros of Hayes was applied. Results: The results support the hypotheses partially. The indirect effect and to some extent the direct effect of job demands turned out to be statistically important. The negative impact of 3 job demands on mental (hypothesis 1 -H1) and physical (hypothesis 2 -H2) health were mediated by the increasing job burnout. Only organizational constraints were directly associated with mental (and not physical) health. Conclusions: The results partially support the notion of the Job Demands-Resources model and provide further insight into processes leading to the low well-being of teachers in the workplace.

Workplace bullying and mental health among teachers in relation to psychosocial job characteristics and burnout

“…Other studies have also shown that experiences and outcomes of workplace bullying may be hidden within other health-related problems at work or in one's daily life or behavioral and personality characteristics [19,39,40]. In our study burnout has not mediated the associations between workplace bullying and psychological distress, but it has mediated the effect of job strain as well as in the study of teachers conducted in Poland [17]. Our study has demonstrated that sources of burnout among teachers might be other than bullying and may reflect organizational climate as well as personality characteristics.…”

The Effects of Job Demands on Mental and Physical Health in the Group of Police Officers. Testing the Mediating Role of Job Burnout

“…It may be that the size of the direct and indirect effects of job demands depends not only on the kind of health indicator taken into consideration but also on the vocational group which is being investigated. Case in point, in a similar study done on a group of Polish teachers, the direct effect of job demands on physical and mental health was not observed (Baka, 2015). What was really strongly confirmed, however, was the indirect effect of job demands on poor physical health -with job burnout as a mediator.…”

Job Demands-Resources and Personal Resources as Risk and Safety Factors for the Professional Burnout Among University Teachers

“…Researchers confirm that the negative impact of job demands on mental and physical health are mediated by the increasing job burnout (Baka, 2015). Even longitudinal data about teachers' occupational well-being revealed significant direct effects of demands (classroom disturbances) on strain (Dicke et al, 2018).…”