Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Major/Program
Adult Education and Human Resource Development
First Advisor's Name
Marc Weinstein
First Advisor's Committee Title
Committee Chair
Second Advisor's Name
Thomas G Reio
Third Advisor's Name
Dawn Addy
Fourth Advisor's Name
Alexis McKenney
Keywords
Work stress, coping, bus driver, burnout, job control
Date of Defense
6-10-2013
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the structure of jobs and burnout, and to assess to what extent, if any this relationship was moderated by individual coping methods. This study was supported by the Karasek's (1998) Job Demand-Control-Support theory of work stress as well as Maslach and Leiter's (1993) theory of burnout. Coping was examined as a moderator based on the conceptualization of Lazarus and Folkman (1984).
Two overall overarching questions framed this study: (a) what is the relationship between job structure, as operationalized by job title, and burnout across different occupations in support services in a large municipal school district? and (b) To what extent do individual differences in coping methods moderate this relationship?
This study was a cross-sectional study of county public school bus drivers, bus aides, mechanics, and clerical workers (N = 253) at three bus depot locations within the same district using validated survey instruments for data collection. Hypotheses were tested using simultaneous regression analyses.
Findings indicated that there were statistically significant and relevant relationships among the variables of interest; job demands, job control, burnout, and ways of coping. There was a relationship between job title and physical job demands. There was no evidence to support a relationship between job title and psychological demands. Furthermore, there was a relationship between physical demands, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment; key indicators of burnout.
Results showed significant correlations between individual ways of coping as a moderator between job structure, operationalized by job title, and individual employee burnout adding empirical evidence to the occupational stress literature. Based on the findings, there are implications for theory, research, and practice. For theory and research, the findings suggest the importance of incorporating transactional models in the study of occupational stress. In the area of practice, the findings highlight the importance of enriching jobs, increasing job control, and providing individual-level training related to stress reduction.
Identifier
FI13080507
Recommended Citation
Restrepo, Monica, "The Relationship between Job Structure, Burnout, and Coping Methods among Public School county Bus Drivers, Bus Aides, Mechanics, and Clerical Workers" (2013). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 898.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/898
Included in
Cognition and Perception Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Health Psychology Commons, Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Other Education Commons
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