Burnout and inequity among human service professionals: a longitudinal study

Abstract

In a composite sample of human service professionals (N = 245), longitudinal relations across 1 year were tested between equity in the professional-recipient relationship and burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment). The 1st research question was whether inequity influenced burnout across time. The 2nd research question was whether longitudinal relations between equity and burnout were curvilinear, as predicted by equity theory. The results confirmed that inequity affects the central component of burnout (i.e., emotional exhaustion) and that this relation is curvilinear. Feeling more deprived and feeling more advantaged resulted in higher future emotional exhaustion levels. No indication was found for a longitudinal relation between inequity and depersonalization. A synchronous relation was found suggesting that personal accomplishment influences equity.