Dual pathways to burnout and engagement: The role of personal goal facilitation through work, self-discrepancy and emotions

• Main Author: TANG, Bek Wuay
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: burnout; engagement; goal facilitation; self-discrepancy; emotions; Cognition and Perception; Personality and Social Contexts
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/413; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/etd_coll/article/1411/viewcontent/GPPS_AY2017_PhD_Tang_Bek_Wuay.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

According to the job-person fit framework, workplace burnout is often exacerbated by mismatches between the characteristics of the employee and the organization. Consistent with this view, past research has found that employees who perceive low personal goal facilitation through work (PGFW) report higher levels of burnout. However, personal goals were often assessed nomothetically, based on the assumption that individuals across occupational groups share similar personal goals they would like to achieve through work. The current research took an idiographic approach by examining if PGFW assessed based on individuals’ uniquely defined personal goals would predict burnout and work engagement. In addition, the role of self-discrepancy and emotions were examined as possible mechanisms through which high PGFW may reduce burnout. Across two samples of general working adults (Study 1) and teachers (Study 2) in Singapore, we found that higher PGFW, based on uniquely defined personal goals, significantly predicted lower burnout and greater work engagement. Furthermore, we found that this relationship was consistently explained by perceptions of lower discrepancy between the ideal and actual self, and more positive emotions. In contrast, perceptions of discrepancy between the ought and actual self and negative emotions did not consistently explain this relationship. The current findings suggest that workplace interventions to reduce burnout and improve engagement could target increasing employees’ sense of personal goal facilitation, particularly in ways that help them achieve their ideal self. Other implications of the current research on the theory of burnout and work engagement will be discussed.