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Workplace Burnout Within the Project Management Discipline: a Comparative Look at Sweden and the UK

Lecompte, Nolwenn LU and Whitcomb, Alyssa Nicole LU (2020) MGTN59 20201
Department of Business Administration
Abstract
Research into burnout has often focused on the helping professions, such as medical care (Schaufeli, Leiter & Maslach, 2009). However, the cost of burnout to private organisations is high, since it correlates with lower productivity and increased turnover/turnover intention amongst others (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Project managers are at a particularly high risk of burnout due to the high-demands and pressure of the role (Pinto, Dawood & Pinto, 2014). This research uses the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) and Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) to assess which factors of project manager work-life correlate most strongly with the risk of burnout, as well as whether there are differences in the nature of work-life... (More)
Research into burnout has often focused on the helping professions, such as medical care (Schaufeli, Leiter & Maslach, 2009). However, the cost of burnout to private organisations is high, since it correlates with lower productivity and increased turnover/turnover intention amongst others (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Project managers are at a particularly high risk of burnout due to the high-demands and pressure of the role (Pinto, Dawood & Pinto, 2014). This research uses the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) and Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) to assess which factors of project manager work-life correlate most strongly with the risk of burnout, as well as whether there are differences in the nature of work-life across a Swedish and British sample. We find no AWS factors correlating with the negative subscales of burnout, but reward, fairness and values all correlate positively with professional efficacy. The only significant work-life difference between our Swedish and UK sample lies in the perception of workload, where Swedes are less satisfied with their workload than the British sample. There are no significant differences in mean burnout scores between this study’s project manager sample (N=41) and the normative data provided by the Maslach-Leiter databases (N=47,800). The implications of these findings for future research and organisational policy are discussed. (Less)
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author
Lecompte, Nolwenn LU and Whitcomb, Alyssa Nicole LU
supervisor
organization
course
MGTN59 20201
year
type
H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
subject
keywords
Keywords: Project Management, Burnout, Engagement, Sweden, UK, Areas of Worklife, Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey
language
English
id
9012911
date added to LUP
2020-06-23 08:34:30
date last changed
2020-06-23 08:34:30
@misc{9012911,
  abstract     = {{Research into burnout has often focused on the helping professions, such as medical care (Schaufeli, Leiter & Maslach, 2009). However, the cost of burnout to private organisations is high, since it correlates with lower productivity and increased turnover/turnover intention amongst others (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). Project managers are at a particularly high risk of burnout due to the high-demands and pressure of the role (Pinto, Dawood & Pinto, 2014). This research uses the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) and Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) to assess which factors of project manager work-life correlate most strongly with the risk of burnout, as well as whether there are differences in the nature of work-life across a Swedish and British sample. We find no AWS factors correlating with the negative subscales of burnout, but reward, fairness and values all correlate positively with professional efficacy. The only significant work-life difference between our Swedish and UK sample lies in the perception of workload, where Swedes are less satisfied with their workload than the British sample. There are no significant differences in mean burnout scores between this study’s project manager sample (N=41) and the normative data provided by the Maslach-Leiter databases (N=47,800). The implications of these findings for future research and organisational policy are discussed.}},
  author       = {{Lecompte, Nolwenn and Whitcomb, Alyssa Nicole}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Workplace Burnout Within the Project Management Discipline: a Comparative Look at Sweden and the UK}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}