Crossover of Burnout and Engagement in Work Teams

Abstract

This study investigates the crossover of burnout and work engagement among 2,229 Royal Dutch constabulary officers, working in one of 85 teams. The authors hypothesized that both states may transfer from teams to individual team members. The results of multilevel analyses confirm this crossover phenomenon by showing that team-level burnout and work engagement are related to individual team members’ burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy) and work engagement (vigor, dedication, and absorption), after controlling for individual members’ job demands and resources. The implications of these findings for interventions aimed at the promotion of employee well-being are discussed.