Conceptualizing the Role of Self-Esteem in the Burnout Process

Recent studies have suggested that self-esteem may be an important variable in employee burnout, although questions remain as to how it affects burnout. Using separate, large samples of police officers (N = 1,163) and hospital workers (N = 494), self-esteem was investigated as an antecedent, moderator, or consequence of employee burnout. Self-esteem was clearly related to burnout, probably as both cause and consequence. However, we did not find that self-esteem acts as a "buffer" to protect individuals from becoming burned out or from experiencing health disorders once they have become burned out. These results indicate that self-esteem may be an important factor in predicting who will be more likely to develop burnout, and they also suggest the importance of rebuilding self-esteem as part of the rehabilitation of burned-out employees.