Abstract
Purpose
This study examined how proactive personality interacts with inter-role conflict, measured as work–family conflict and family–work conflict, to predict burnout, measured as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment.
Design/Methodology/Approach
Participants were 171 clerical employees. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test whether proactive personality moderated the relationship between inter-role conflict and forms of burnout.
Findings
Family–work conflict was not associated with burnout, but work–family conflict explained 30% of unique variance in emotional exhaustion and 9% in depersonalization. Proactive personality explained 12% of variance in personal accomplishment. Three-way interactions indicated that at high levels of work—family conflict and family—work conflict, proactive individuals reported lower levels of emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment and higher levels of depersonalization than less proactive individuals.
Implications
While previous research has generally documented the virtues of proactive personality, our research indicates that when simultaneously faced with work–family and family–work conflict, individuals with proactive personality experience more depersonalization and less personal accomplishment relative to less proactive individuals. Overall, results of three-way interactions imply that while a certain level of proactive personality may be necessary to buffer feelings of emotional exhaustion, beyond a certain level, proactive personality may lead one to experience higher levels of depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment.
Originality/Value
This study extends previous research by examining the influence of two types of inter-role conflict on all three dimensions of burnout. It also responds to calls for additional research on potential moderators, buffers, or even antidotes to stress by examining how proactive personality interacts with stressors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, G. A., King, L. A., & King, D. W. (1996). Relationships of job and family involvement, family social support, and work–family conflict with job and life satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 411–420.
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Bakker, A. D., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands-Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22, 309–328.
Bakker, A. D., Demerouti, E., & Euwema, M. C. (2005). Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10, 170–180.
Bateman, T. S., & Crant, J. M. (1993). The proactive component of organizational behavior: A measure and correlates. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 14, 103–118.
Becker, T. E. (2005). Potential problems in the statistical control of variables in organizational research: A qualitative analysis with recommendations. Organizational Research Methods, 8, 274–289.
Beutell, N. J., & Wittig-Berman, U. (1999). Predictors of work–family conflict and satisfaction with family, job, career and life. Psychological Reports, 85, 893–903.
Boles, J. S., Dean, D. H., Ricks, J. M., Short, J. C., & Wang, G. (2000). The dimensionality of the Maslach Burnout Inventory across small business owners and educators. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56, 12–34.
Bolino, M. C., & Turnley, W. H. (2005). The personal costs of citizenship behavior: The relationship between individual initiative and role overload, job stress, and work–family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 740–748.
Bond, J. T., Galinsky, E., & Swanberg, J. E. (1997). The 1997 national study of the changing workforce. New York: Families and Work Institute.
Boyar, S. L., Maertz, Jr., Pearson, A. W., & Keough, S. (2003). Work–family conflict: A model of linkages between work and family domain variables and turnover intentions. Journal of Managerial Issues, 25, 175–190.
Brotheridge, C. M. (2001). A comparison of alternative models of coping: Identifying relationships among coworkers support, workload and emotional exhaustion in the workplace. International Journal of Stress Management, 8, 1–14.
Brotheridge, C. M., & Lee, R. T. (2005). Impact of work–family interference on general well-being: A replication and extension. International Journal of Stress Management, 12, 203–221.
Burke, R. J. (1989). Career stages, satisfaction and well-being among police officers. Psychological Reports, 65, 3–12.
Burke, R. J., & Greenglass, E. R. (2001). Hospital restructuring, work–family conflict and psychological burnout among nursing staff. Psychology and Health, 16, 583–594.
Carlson, D. S., & Kacmar, K. M. (2000). Work–family conflict in the organization: Do life role values make a difference? Journal of Management, 26, 1031–1054.
Chan, D. (2006). Interactive effects of situational judgment effectiveness and proactive personality on work perceptions and work outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 475–481.
Cinamon, R. G., Rich, Y., & Westman, M. (2007). Teachers’ occupation-specific work–family conflict. Career Development Quarterly, 55, 249–261.
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Crant, J. M. (1995). The Proactive Personality Scale and objective job performance among real estate agents. Journal of Applied Psychology, 80, 532–537.
Crant, J. M. (2000). Proactive behavior in organizations. Journal of Management, 26, 435–462.
Crant, J. M., & Bateman, T. S. (2000). Charismatic leadership viewed from above: The impact of proactive personality. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 63–75.
Cropanzano, R., Howes, J. C., Grandey, A. A., & Toth, P. (1997). The relationship of organizational politics and support to work behaviors, attitudes and stress. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 18, 159–180.
Cropanzano, R., Rupp, D. E., & Byrne, Z. S. (2003). The relationship of emotional exhaustion to work attitudes, job performance and organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 160–169.
Cunningham, C. J. L., & De, La Rosa, G. M. (2008). The interactive effects of proactive personality and work–family interference on well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 13, 271–282.
Dawson, J. F., & Richter, A. W. (2006). Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression: Development and application of a slope difference test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 917–926.
Froggatt, K. L., & Cotton, J. L. (1987). The impact of Type A behavior pattern on role overload-induced stress and performance attributions. Journal of Management, 13, 87–98.
Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1992). Antecedents and outcomes of work–family conflict: Testing a model of the work–family interface. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77, 65–78.
Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Barnes, G. M. (1996). Work–family conflict, gender, and health-related outcomes. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1, 57–69.
Garman, A. N., Corrigan, P. W., & Morris, S. (2002). Staff burnout and patient satisfaction: Evidence of relationships at the care unit level. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7, 235–241.
Goff, S. J., Mount, M. K., & Jamison, R. L. (1990). Employer supported child care, work/family conflict, and absenteeism: A field study. Personnel Psychology, 43, 793–809.
Goode, W. J. (1960). A theory of role strain. American Sociological Review, 25(4), 483–496.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76–88.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Powell, G. N. (2006). When work and family are allies: A theory of work–family enrichment. Academy of Management Review, 31, 72–92.
Gutek, B. A., Searle, S., & Klepa, L. (1991). Rational versus gender role explanations for work–family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 560–568.
Halpern, D. F. (2005). Psychology at the intersection of work and family: Recommendations for employers, working families, and policymakers. American Psychologist, 60, 397–409.
Harris, K. J., & Kacmar, K. M. (2005). Easing the strain: The buffer role of supervisors in the perceptions of politics-strain relationship. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 18, 337–354.
Harris, K. J., Harvey, P., & Kacmar, K. M. (2009). Do social stressors impact everyone equally? An examination of the moderating impact of core self-evaluations. Journal of Business and Psychology, 24, 153–164.
Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524.
Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307–324.
Jawahar, I. M., Stone, T. H., & Kisamore, J. L. (2007). Role conflict and burnout: The direct and moderating effects of political skill and perceived organizational support on burnout dimensions. International Journal of Stress Management, 14, 142–159.
Jex, S. M., & Bliese, P. D. (1999). Efficacy beliefs as a moderator of the impact of work-related stressors: A multilevel study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 349–361.
Kahn, R. L., & Byosiere, P. (1992). Stress in organizations. In M. D. Dunnette & L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook of industrial, organizational psychology. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Kahn, J., & Langlieb, A. M. (2003). Mental health and productivity in the workplace: A handbook for organizations and clinicians. Hoboken, NJ: s.
Kahn, R. L., Wolfe, D. M., Quinn, R. P., Snoek, J. D., & Rosenthal, R. A. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. Oxford, England: Wiley.
Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly, 24, 285–308.
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Progress on a cognitive-motivational-relational theory of emotions. American Psychologist, 46, 819–834.
Lazarus, R. S. (1999). Stress and emotion: A new synthesis. London: Free Association Books.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress appraisal and coping. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Lee, R. T., & Ashforth, B. E. (1996). A meta-analytic examination of the correlates of the three dimensions of job burnout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 123–133.
Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (1988). The impact of interpersonal environment on burnout and organizational commitment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 9, 297–308.
Little, L. M., Simmons, B. L., & Nelson, D. L. (2007). Health among leaders: Positive and negative affect, engagement and burnout, forgiveness and revenge. Journal of Management Studies, 44, 243–260.
MacEwen, K. E., & Barling, J. (1994). Daily consequences of work interference with family and family interference with work. Work and Stress, 8, 244–254.
Maslach, C. (1982). Burnout: The cost of caring. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2, 99–113.
Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1986). Maslach Burnout Inventory manual (2nd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
McNall, L. A. & Michel, J. S. (in press). A dispositional approach to work–school conflict and enrichment. Journal of Business and Psychology. doi:10.1007/s10869-010-9187-0. http://www.springerlink.com/content/pr22475649328w24/.
McNall, L. A., Nicklin, J. M., & Masuda, A. D. (2010). A meta-analytic review of the consequences associated with work–family enrichment. Journal of Business and Psychology, 25, 381–396.
Mitchell, T. R., & James, L. R. (2001). Building better theory: Time and the specification of when things happen. Academy of Management Review, 26, 530–547.
Netemeyer, R. G., Boles, J. S., & McMurrian, R. (1996). Development and validation of Work–Family Conflict and Family–Work Conflict Scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 400–410.
Parasuraman, S., & Greenhaus, J. H. (1993). Personal portrait: The lifestyle of the woman manager. In E. A. Fagenson (Ed.), Women in management: Trends, issues, and challenges in managerial diversity (Vol. 4, pp. 186–211). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Parker, S. K., & Sprigg, C. A. (1999). Minimizing strain and maximizing learning: The role of job demands, job control and proactive personality. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 925–939.
Peeters, M. C. W., Montgomery, A. J., Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2005). Balancing work and home: How job and home demands are related to burnout. International Journal of Stress Management, 12, 43–61.
Perrewé, P. L., Zellars, K. L., Rossi, A. M., Ferris, G. R., Kacmar, C. J., Liu, Y., et al. (2005). Political skill: An antidote in the role overload-strain relationship. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 10, 239–250.
Rahim, M. A., & Psenicka, C. (1996). A structural equations model of stress, locus of control, social support, psychiatric symptoms, and propensity to leave a job. Journal of Social Psychology, 136, 69–84.
Schaubroeck, J., & Merritt, D. E. (1997). Divergent effects of job control on coping with work stressors: The key role of self-efficacy. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 738–754.
Schaubroeck, J., Jones, J. R., & Xie, J. L. (2001). Individual differences in utilizing control to cope with job demands: Effects on susceptibility to infectious disease. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 265–278.
Schaufeli, W. B., & Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis. London: Taylor & Francis.
Seibert, S. E., Crant, J. M., & Kraimer, M. L. (1999). Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 416–427.
Spector, P. E., Chen, P. Y., & O’Connell, B. J. (2000). A longitudinal study of relations between job stressors and job strains while controlling for prior negative affectivity and strains. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 211–218.
Stamper, C. L., & Johlke, M. C. (2003). The impact of perceived organizational support on the relationship between boundary spanner role stress and work outcomes. Journal of Management, 29, 569–588.
Thomas, J. P., Whitman, D. S., & Viswesvaran, C. (2010). Employee proactivity in organizations: A comparative meta-analysis of emergent proactive constructs. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83, 275–300.
Thompson, J. A. (2005). Proactive personality and job performance: A social capital perspective. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 1011–1017.
Tubre, T. C., & Collins, J. M. (2000). Jackson and Schuler (1985) revisited: A meta-analysis of the relationships between role ambiguity, role conflict and job performance. Journal of Management, 26, 155–169.
van Emmerik, H., & Jawahar, I. M. (2006). The independent relationships of objective and subjective workload with couples’ mood. Human Relations, 59, 1371–1392.
Williams, K. J., & Alliger, G. M. (1994). Role stressors, mood spillover, and perceptions of work–family conflict in employed parents. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 837–868.
Williams, K. J., Suls, J., Alliger, G. M., Learner, S. M., & Wan, P. (1991). Multiple role juggling and daily mood states in working mothers: An experience sampling study. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 664–674.
Worley, J. A., Vasser, M., Wheeler, D. L., & Barnes, L. L. B. (2008). Factor structure of scores from the Maslach Burnout Inventory: A review and meta-analysis of 45 exploratory and confirmatory factor-analytic studies. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 68, 797–823.
Xie, J. L., & Schaubroeck, J. (2001). Bridging approaches and findings across diverse disciplines to improve job stress research. In P. L. Perrewé & D. C. Ganster (Eds.), Research in occupational stress and well being (Vol. 1, pp. 1–53). Oxford, England: Elsevier Science.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jawahar, I.M., Kisamore, J.L., Stone, T.H. et al. Differential Effect of Inter-Role Conflict on Proactive Individual’s Experience of Burnout. J Bus Psychol 27, 243–254 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-011-9234-5
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-011-9234-5