BURNOUT IN THE HYBRID WORKPLACE: EXAMINING THE STRUGGLE OF LANGUAGE LECTURERS IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Many workers struggle with stressful conditions, resulting in work burnout. While studies have examined issues revolving around working from home, research on hybrid work environment is lacking, particularly in Malaysian contexts. This study aims to examine work burnout issues faced by language lecturers in a hybrid work landscape.   Methodology: A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed in this study. An adapted Copenhagen Burnout Inventory was administered online to 130 language lecturers from two public universities in Selangor through random sampling procedure. To determine levels of personal, work-related, and colleague-related burnout, data were analysed using descriptive statistics analyses which were conducted on SPSS Version 29.   Findings: The findings revealed that personal and work-related burnout are perceived as sometimes contributing to burnout. Conversely, colleague-related burnout is perceived less frequently, suggesting minimal impact on burnout in interactions with colleagues. The overall low burnout levels suggest that hybrid working could be an effective arrangement for educators in the long run. Contributions: The insights gained on work burnout among language lecturers will be particularly useful in maneuvering work effectively in academia, with the hope to address issues within the UN SDG Goal 3 where good health and well-being would be the focus.   Keywords: Work-life balance, hybrid workplace, burnout, academia, language lecturers.   Cite as: Azizan, M., Shafie, H., Mohd Jaafar, N., Komarudin, N. E., & Samud, N. N. (2024). Burnout in the hybrid workplace: Examining the struggle of language lecturers in Malaysia.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(2), 577-602. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss2pp577-602