Burnout contagion processes among teachers

This study of 154 Dutch high school teachers examined processes by which oc cupational burnout may transfer from one person to another. Two conditions that may increase the probability of burnout contagion were investigated; n amely, individual teachers' susceptibility to emotional contagion, and the frequency with which teachers are exposed to colleagues with student- and w ork-related problems. Consistent with hypotheses derived from theories abou t emotional contagion, the results suggest that burnout contagion was most pronounced under these 2 high-risk conditions. Specifically, the prevalence of perceived burnout among participants' colleagues was most strongly rela ted to individual teachers' burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion and deperso nalization), when the teachers were highly susceptible to the emotions of o thers and when they frequently communicated with each other about work-rela ted problems.