SOCIAL SUPPORT AS A BUFFER IN THE STRESS BURNOUT RELATIONSHIP

Since the burnout syndrome has a negative impact both on the individua l affected and the institution in which he/she is employed, it is impo rtant to identify the factors which may alleviate the level of burnout . Social support is said to be one of such factors. Our study was unde rtaken to investigate the influence of social support in the workplace and general social support on relationships between global stress and stress related to role conflict, ambiguity and overload and burnout c omponents (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accom plishment). The subjects were 1,023 hospital nurses, The results indic ate that burnout level correlates highly with organizational and globa l stress. The role of social support in determining the level of parti cular burnout components varied according to the type and scope of sup port. No reliable correlation was found between emotional exhaustion a nd social support of any type. The level of depersonalization was rela ted only to general support whereas a personal accomplishment factor w as related to both types of support. The study did not reveal a buffer ing effect of both types of social support on the relationships betwee n stress and components of burnout.