The Moderating Role of Psychological Empowerment on the Relationship between Individualism-Collectivism perceptions and Burnout of Teachers

Abstract

Many studies revealing that sociocultural norms affect teachers' perceptions and behaviors lead us to question the role of different variables in the perception of burnout. It is observed that the perception of burnout, which has been investigated for nearly 50 years, affects not only health workers, but also service sectors such as education, banking and care services. It is generally emphasized in researches that the perception of burnout observed in studies in Western individual societies can also be observed in Eastern collectivist societies. In most of studies related to burnout syndrome, psychological empowerment is accepted as a predictor however no study offers that individualistic trends may also affect burnout. Besides the effects of collectivist trends have not been studied. Within the framework of the theory of conservation of resources, the effect of individual and collectivist tendencies on burnout and the moderator role of psychological empowerment perception were questioned in this study. In the study, 16 item individualism and collectivist perception scale, which was validated in Turkish by Uzbek (2010), 22 item The Maslach Burnout Scale (MTO) which was validated in Turlkish by Ergin (1992), 12 item psychological empowerment scale, which was validated in Turkish by Altindish and Ozutku (2011) were used. 207 teachers working in public schools consisted the sample group of research. The data gathered through face to face surveys were analyzed by SPSS 22 and Process 3.= version macro. According to the results of tests mediation role of psychological empowerment is observed between individualism and burnout but has not been observed between collectivism and burnout