Decent Work and Burnout: A profile study with academic personnel

Abstract

This research explores the relationship between Decent Work (DW) and Burnout in Portuguese and Brazilian academic personnel. We focus on identifying profiles resulting from the relationship between these variables. Seven hundred twenty-seven participants composed the sample (Portuguese = 334; Brazilian = 393), and data were collected online using the Decent Work Questionnaire (DWQ) and the Personal Burnout subscale from the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). Results of multiple linear regressions showed that two DW dimensions were significant and negatively related to Burnout: Fundamental Principles and Values at Work and Adequate Working Time and Workload. We found four profiles by performing a cluster analysis: Low Decent Work; High Decent Work; and two other profiles with DW deficit in at least one DW dimension: Low Fundamental Principles and Values at Work and Low Adequate working time and workload. Moreover, 71% of the total sample showed some decent work deficit. Differences between Burnout and the DW dimensions were analyzed through a MANOVA. In our sample, considering the broad dimensions of DW, Burnout seems to be mainly dependent on the deficit of aspects related to the quality of treatment and interpersonal relationships at work (e.g., perceptions of fairness, participation, non-discrimination) as well as the balance of the workload and the adequacy of the working hours. Interventions aiming at improvements must focus on those two dimensions.