Burnout in health care: The role of the five factors of personality

Job burnout continues to plague organizations and individuals, resulting in costly consequences. In examining the antecedents to job burnout, prior re search has primarily focused on role stressors present in the job environme nt, with little attention given to individual characteristics. The purpose of this field study was to examine the extent to which dimensions of an ind ividual's personality have differential effects on the 3 components of burn out (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accom plishment) among nurses working in a hospital. After controlling for severa l demographic variables and 3 role stressors, findings indicate that specif ic dimensions of personality do significantly and differentially impact the experience of the 3 components of burnout.