Job Characteristics, Optimism, Burnout, and ILL Health of Support Staff in a Higher Education Institution in South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between job characteristics, burnout, optimism, and ill health. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The sample consisted of 334 support staff members of a higher education institution in the North West Province of South Africa. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey, a Health questionnaire, the Job Characteristics Inventory, and the Life Orientation Test-Revised were administered. The results of the study showed that job demands (overload) and a lack of job resources contributed to burnout. Burnout, in turn, mediated the effects of job demands and a lack of job resources on ill health. Dispositional optimism had a direct effect on exhaustion and cynicism. However, dispositional optimism did not interact with job demands or job resources in affecting exhaustion and cynicism.