A cross-sectional investigation of prevalence of occupational burnout in Saudi aviation industry

Abstract

Achievement of excellence in the aviation industry largely depends on a highly effective workforce. In the management of organizational behavior, the well-being of employees is essential in the workforce and organization’s outcomes. Despite the roles of occupational burnout in well-being and productivity, not much exist in the global literature that includes the Saudi aviation industry. Our study was designed as a survey to examine the prevalence of occupational burnout in the aviation industry. It involved a sample size of 1051 from different work groups in the industry. Questionnaires that required information on socio-demographics and contained the Maslach and Jackson’s burnout inventory that was adapted for the study were utilized for data collection. A prevalence of 41.7% of occupational burnout was found and it existed by age and work group differences in the sample. The findings are indicative of burnout as a near epidemic that has significant potential to negatively influence employees’ productivity in the industry. Enlarging the scope and inclusion of some other dispositional variables that could enhance impact analysis of occupational burnout may be considered in future researches. Nevertheless, the study has provided empirical basis to raise awareness of occupational burnout for management, scholars and practitioners. It is expected to guide interventions that promote employees’ well-being, and also help to expand the global literature on aviation industry data.