Job Burnout: toward an Integration of Two Dominant Resource-Based Models

Abstract

The goal of this study was to integrate the job demands-resources model and the conservation of resources model of job burnout into a unified theoretical framework. The data were collected through a mail questionnaire survey among nurses holding managerial positions in the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong. From a computer-generated random sample of nurses, 543 (84.3% women) returned usable surveys, amounting to a response rate of 24.2%. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed paths originating from job demands and job resources to the core job burnout dimensions, namely, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Results supported the integrated model, indicating that job demands and job resources had differing effects on the burnout dimensions. The effect of job demands was stronger and partially mediated the effect of job resources. Implications of the results from this study on management practices were discussed.