THE ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONAL SOCIALIZATION IN BURNOUT: A TAIWANESE EXAMPLE

Abstract

Previous research predominantly used the conservation of resources (COR) model (Schaufeli & Enzmann, 1998) and the job demands-resources (JD-R) model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001) to explain burnout. In this study, organizational socialization was examined as a factor to explain and more completely understand burnout. Results from a sample of 397 employees in people-oriented professions and organizations in Taiwan revealed that organizational socialization was significantly related to all three components of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. The strength of the prediction was particularly apparent on the dimension of reduced personal accomplishment. The use of organizational socialization as an effective predictor of burnout is a significant departure from previous research.