Burnout as a Mediator in the Workaholism-Turnover Intentions Relationship

Abstract

The present research explores the relationship between workaholism and voluntary turnover intentions with burnout as the explanatory mechanism. Existing literature has found a positive relationship between workaholism and overall burnout, along with multiple burnout dimensions (Clark et al., 2014). Research has also found a positive relationship between burnout, turnover intentions, and actual turnover behaviors (Maslach et al., 2001). However, there is a gap in the literature because an empirical linkage between workaholism and turnover intentions has not been found, and a previous attempt at exploring this relationship did not use a sufficient measure of workaholism (Choi, 2013). The present study uses the Multidimensional Workaholism Scale (MWS; Clark et al., 2020), as it addresses issues of workaholism’s construct contamination in the literature. Additionally, the mediation model is theoretically explored with Conservation of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989). Evidence from a three-wave study of MTurk participants (N = 337), ranging in professions and industries, provides support that (a) burnout positively and significantly mediates the relationship between overall workaholism and turnover intentions; (b) burnout positively and significantly mediates the relationships between cognitive and emotional workaholism and turnover intentions; (c) burnout negatively and significantly mediates the relationship between motivational workaholism and turnover intentions. Additional post hoc analyses did explore the relative importance of each workaholism dimension in accounting for predictable variance in burnout, allowing further consideration of motivational workaholism’s effects in this study. These results inform practices and interventions aimed at individuals at-risk of or experiencing the negative implications of workaholism and burnout.