The Relationship between Burnout and Employee Outcomes: The Moderating Role of Performance Appraisal Satisfaction and Organisational Commitment

Abstract

Burnout in the workplace has increased over time across all industries and geographies. When employees experience burnout, they typically give in to psychological as well as physical strain, whereas the consequences for their organisations include higher rates of absenteeism and turnover. Faculty members working in universities are also susceptible to burnout and the challenges they encounter with regards to burnout are unique. To better understand the potential levers available to managers to address employee burnout, this study examines the relationship between burnout, organisational commitment (OC), and performance appraisal satisfaction (PAS) among faculty members of two public universities in Saudi Arabia and the effects that these factors have on job satisfaction and job performance. Drawing on Ability, Motivation and Opportunity framework and Job Demand-Resources model, a mixed method approach is employed utilising 213 survey responses and 23 semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that burnout is negatively related to job satisfaction, but that there is no relationship between burnout and job performance. Meanwhile, PAS is positively related to job satisfaction but is unrelated to job performance. By contrast, OC was found to be positively related to both job satisfaction and job performance. Importantly, PAS positively moderates the burnout-to-job satisfaction relationship, whereas it negatively moderates the burnout-to-job performance relationship. Similarly, OC had the effect of positively moderating the effect of burnout on job satisfaction but no effect on the burnout-to-job performance relationship. The responses received during the interviews suggested that performance appraisals fail to deliver enhanced performance in the workplace in the absence of appropriate penalties for individuals who underachieve and incentives for faculty members to outperform such as recognition and opportunities for professional development. The findings regarding the need for enhanced resources to mitigate burnout and enhance the job satisfaction and performance of faculty members will be of interest to higher education policymakers and to line managers.