Relationship between overcommitment and burnout: Does job satisfaction play a role?

Purpose: Using the COR (Conservation of Resources; Hobfoll, 1989) theory as a framework, we hypothesized that overcommitment plays a role in the burnout escalation process. We further specified our model by testing a moderation effect of job satisfaction. Specifically, we propose a mediational moderated model in which burnout increases overcommitment, which in its turn leads to an escalation of burnout one month later. We further expected a buffering effect of job satisfaction in the link between overcommitment and burnout at time 2. Design/Methodology: The study was conducted using a longitudinal (time lag: one month) design on all employees of the personnel department of the Autonomous Province of Trento in Italy (longitudinal response rate was 77,48%). To test our hypotheses we used the PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2012), computing a mediational moderated model. Results: Analyses confirmed our hypotheses. Overcommitment increased burnout over time, and job satisfaction moderated the negative impact of this excessive work involvement on employees exhaustion. Limitations: Our study is limited to a small sample of Italian workers employed in the public sector, so more research is necessary to extend our findings to other contexts. Research/Practical Implications: The buffering effect of job satisfaction could represent a compensation effect, that could mask, but not eliminate, the influence of overcommitment on burnout, with possible detrimental effects in the long run. Future research should address this problem. Originality/Value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to empirically address the moderating effect of job satisfaction in the burnout escalation process.