Faculty burnout and its relationship to social and institutional support

Abstract

The purpose of this sequential explanatory study was to determine if there was a relationship between faculty burnout, social support, institutional support, or salary, as well as establish if any college at a regional public university in the Midwest was less burned out than the others. Participants (n = 111) completed a survey that contained qualifying as well as demographic questions, Maslach's Burnout Inventory, Cutrona and Russell's Social Provisions Scale, and the institutional support section of Conklin and Desselle's Multidimensional Work Satisfaction Scale. Social support in the form of guidance and reassurance of worth, as well as institutional support, were found to mitigate burnout. The College of Education, Health and Human Studies had a lower burnout score than other colleges. In semi-structured interviews with faculty, it was determined that personal accomplishment, as well as colleagues, department chairs, and deans who create a culture of support, can reduce burnout.