The impact of work engagement and meaningful work to alleviate job burnout among social workers in New Zealand

Tan, Kim-Lim, and Yeap, Peik Foong (2021) The impact of work engagement and meaningful work to alleviate job burnout among social workers in New Zealand. Management Decision, 60 (11). pp. 3042-3065.

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View at Publisher Website: https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-05-2021-0689
 
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Abstract

Purpose Grounding our research in the conservation of resources (COR) theory and the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory, this study addresses the research gap of examining the relationship between meaningful work and dimensions of job burnout with work engagement as the mediator, especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also attempts to understand if age plays a role in moderating the effect of these relationships.

Design/methodology/approach This study collected data using a questionnaire protocol that was adapted and refined from the original scales in existing studies. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data collected from 530 social workers working in New Zealand nonprofit organizations (NPO).

Findings Results indicated that meaningful work only addressed one dimension of job burnout. Work engagement was found to have mediating effects on the relationships between meaningful work and all the dimensions of job burnout. Age does not have any moderating effect on these relationships.

Originality/value This study addresses the lack of literature that collectively examines the constructs of meaningful work, dimensions of job burnout and work engagement in the same model. In doing so, this study provides a unique verification of job burnout as a multidimensional construct. At the same time, this study offers insights into the effect of these constructs in NPOs, unraveling the complexities that drive these NPOs' human resources (HR) processes.

Item ID: 76203
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1758-6070
Copyright Information: © Emerald Publishing Limited. AAM may be made open access in an Institutional Repository under a CC BY-NC license without embargo.
Date Deposited: 05 Oct 2022 00:42
FoR Codes: 35 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 3505 Human resources and industrial relations > 350503 Human resources management @ 100%
SEO Codes: 15 ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK > 1505 Microeconomics > 150502 Human capital issues @ 100%
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