Burnout and intention to leave among mental health-care professionals: A social psychological approach

Abstract

In this study, burnout and intention to leave are investigated from a social psychological perspective. By employing covariance structure modeling (LISREL 8), a model is tested and revised among a group of 208 group mental health care professionals. The results showed that the more employees are engaged in negative communication with their colleagues about management, the more they feel strengthened in their perception of inequity in the employment relationship. This perception of inequity results in two forms of withdrawal: intention to leave the organization (i.e. "behavioral" withdrawal) and emotional exhaustion, resulting - in turn - to feelings of depersonalization ("psychological" withdrawal). Thoughts about leaving the organization are also directly triggered by negative discussions concerning management. Furthermore, the more employees feel emotionally exhausted, the more they seem to feel the need to engage in negative communication with colleagues. The implications of the findings are discussed, particularly from the perspective of social comparison theory and equity theory, and methodological aspects and limitations are considered.