What fuels the fire: Job- or task-specific motivation (or both)? On the hierarchical and multidimensional nature of teacher motivation in relation to job burnout

Abstract

Drawing on a hierarchical (job and task level) and multidimensional conceptualisation of work motivation (intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulations), this study examines relationships between motivational regulations and burnout. Participants were 806 French-Canadian teachers working in public elementary and high schools. Results reveal different associations between burnout and the regulations that drive teachers to engage in their overall job or in specific tasks: autonomous regulations (intrinsic and identified) are negatively associated with burnout but more negatively at the job than task level, whereas controlled regulations (introjected and external) are positively associated with burnout but more positively at the task than job level. This study provides valuable insights into how teachers’ motivations towards both the job and tasks can foster or prevent burnout symptoms. Implications for theory and research on burnout and work motivation are discussed.