Background

Without mitigation and intervention, ongoing workplace demands can lead to employee burnout resulting in decreased job performance and turnover. The additional demands stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have placed significant stressors on the human service organizations charged with providing welfare assistance to vulnerable children and families. Employees of a large human service state agency were invited to answer questions related to burnout, organizational support, leadership effectiveness, and hope during the early stages of the pandemic (March 2020). 

Aims

The purpose of this study was to examine, 1) the relationship between burnout, leadership effectiveness, organizational support, and hope; and 2) examine if hope would account for significant variance in burnout over-and-above leadership effectiveness and organizational support.

Method

A large sample of non-supervisor human service employees (N = 2,235) participated in an anonymous web-based survey. Participants were asked to voluntarily complete a series of questions including the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, Perceived Organizational Support, Leadership Effectiveness, and the Adult Hope Scale. This protocol was approved by the university and state agency IRB.

Results

In support of the hypotheses, results of the correlation analyses demonstrated significant negative associations between burnout and leadership effectiveness (r = - .45; p < .01), perceived organizational support (r = -.50; p < .01), and hope (r = -.65; p < .01). Results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that hope accounted for significant variance (DR2 = .09; p < .01) in burnout over-and-above leadership effectiveness and perceived organizational support (R2 = .38; p < .01). 

Conclusion 

Results are consistent with a growing body of evidence that hope is a significant factor in well-being. In the context of employees that provide direct services to vulnerable children and families, burnout is an ongoing concern for organizational leaders. This study adds to the literature by demonstrating that hope may serve as an important and malleable resource potentially buffering the ever-present demands of direct service to those experiencing adversity.