Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 9-9-2015

Abstract

Recent research has pinpointed the serious effects of job burnout on both personal life and productivity in work. Yet, there is a gap in the research directed to service professions in developing countries. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between work environment, stress and burnout within the Egyptian context. The research proposes that stress mediates the relationship between work environment characteristics and burnout. An explanatory model was tested for the hypothesized relationships. The study was conducted on 325 Egyptian teachers with a response rate of 79.9% (250 teacher).The proposed model included 10 work environment components measured by the Work Environment Scale (WES) that affect work stress, which, in turn, may lead to burnout measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical regression and path analysis were used to test the data fit for the hypothesized model. The results confirmed the proposed relationships between 7 components of work environment (involvement, work cohesion, supervisor’s support, autonomy, work pressure, physical comfort, and innovation), stress, and burnout components. The mediation effect was confirmed. This results could help fill the gap in the study of burnout and burnout antecedents within the Egyptian context by highlighting the importance of specific work components that do not receive much attention in Egypt, especially innovation and autonomy. The study suggests that decision makers in schools should reconsider the work environment to give more space for autonomy and innovation, provide a comfortable physical environment and ensure supervisor support. The study propose several variables that should be investigated in future studies.

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