Burnout and reciprocity: Towards a dual-level social exchange model

Abstract A tentative dual-level social exchange model of burnout and organizational commitment is proposed that includes social exchange relationships at the interpersonal level (i.e. between human services professional, or caregiver, and recipient) as well as at the organizational level (i.e. between employees and organization). The model was tested and cross-validated in two independent samples that consisted of 220 and 142 student nurses, respectively, by using linear structural modelling with LISREL VII. The hypothesized model assumes that lack of reciprocity at both levels is positively related to burnout, whereas poor organizational commitment is exclusively related to lack of reciprocity at the organizational level. This model fitted reasonably well to the data of both samples. The limitations of the study and its practical implications are discussed, and directions for future research on the dual-level social exchange model are proposed.

[1]  Cynthia L. Cordes,et al.  A Review and an Integration of Research on Job Burnout , 1993 .

[2]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[3]  L. Porter,et al.  The Measurement of Organizational Commitment. , 1979 .

[4]  W. Schaufeli,et al.  Measurement Of Burnout: A Review , 1993 .

[5]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  Burnout among Nurses , 1994 .

[6]  Denise M. Rousseau,et al.  The contracts of individuals and organizations , 1993 .

[7]  R. P. McDonald,et al.  Choosing a multivariate model: Noncentrality and goodness of fit. , 1990 .

[8]  R. Golembiewski,et al.  Phases of Burnout: Developments in Concepts and Applications , 1988 .

[9]  J. K. Chadwick-Jones,et al.  Social Exchange Theory: Its Structure and Influence in Social Psychology. , 1976 .

[10]  Robert D. Pritchard,et al.  Equity theory: A review and critique. , 1969 .

[11]  B. Buunk,et al.  A longitudinal study of equity and satisfaction in intimate relationships , 1990 .

[12]  J. Traupmann,et al.  Equity: Theory and Research , 1978 .

[13]  J. S. Adams,et al.  Inequity In Social Exchange , 1965 .

[14]  W. Schaufeli,et al.  Burnout among General Practitioners A Perspective from Equity Theory , 1994 .

[15]  D. Rousseau,et al.  Violating the psychological contract: Not the exception but the norm , 1994 .

[16]  H. Firth,et al.  ‘Burnout’, absence and turnover amongst British nursing staff , 1989 .

[17]  B. Buunk,et al.  Burnout: a Perspective From Social Comparison Theory , 1993 .

[18]  D. Messick,et al.  An integrated model of perceived unfairness in organizations , 1995 .

[19]  P. Brill.  The need for an operational definition of burnout. , 1984, Family & community health.

[20]  Caryl E. Rusbult,et al.  Exchange variables as predictors of job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover: The impact of rewards, costs, alternatives, and investments. , 1981 .

[21]  H. Lodewijkx,et al.  Organizational commitment and satisfaction with work among transferred employees: An application of Referent Cognitions Theory , 1993 .

[22]  W. Schaufeli,et al.  The evaluation of a burnout workshop for community nurses. , 1995, Journal of health and human services administration.

[23]  J. Mathieu,et al.  A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment , 1990 .

[24]  T. Tyler,et al.  The Social Psychology of Procedural Justice , 1988 .

[25]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  Communal orientation and the burnout syndrome among nurses , 1992 .

[26]  W. Schaufeli,et al.  Historical and Conceptual Development of Burnout , 1993 .

[27]  B. Buunk,et al.  Social support and stress: the role of social comparison and social exchange processes. , 1992, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[28]  G. Kuk,et al.  Burnout, Health, Work Stress, and Organizational Healthiness , 1993 .

[29]  W. Schaufeli,et al.  The construct validity of two burnout measures , 1993 .

[30]  B. Buunk,et al.  Social Comparison, Inequity, and Absenteeism among Bus Drivers , 1993 .

[31]  B. Byrne.  The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Testing for factorial validity and invariance across elementary, intermediate and secondary teachers , 1993 .

[32]  P. Bentler,et al.  Significance Tests and Goodness of Fit in the Analysis of Covariance Structures , 1980 .

[33]  Efrat Elron,et al.  Expatriate managers and the psychological contract. , 1994 .

[34]  S. Sarason,et al.  Professional burnout in human service organizations , 1980 .

[35]  John P. Meyer,et al.  The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization , 1990 .

[36]  Amitai Etzioni,et al.  A Comparative Analysis of Complex Organizations. , 1962 .

[37]  Donna M. Randall,et al.  The consequences of organizational commitment: Methodological investigation , 1990 .

[38]  M. Haack,et al.  Stress and impairment among nursing students. , 1988, Research in nursing & health.