PhD Scientific Days 2023

Mental Health Sciences - Posters M

The relationship between emotional intelligence, burnout, and workplace resources among Hungarian social care leaders

Text of the abstract

The relationship between emotional intelligence, burnout, and workplace resources among Hungarian social care leaders

Introduction: Inspired by the Job-Demand Resources Model (JD-R), it is postulated that emotional intelligence (EI) can build and nurture job resources at workplaces, and there is a high consensus that the presence of EI and job resources could protect against burnout.

Aims: This research examined the relationship between emotional intelligence, burnout, and the mediational role of workplace society resources (workplace community and mutual trust) under the JD-R Model framework among social care managers in Hungary.

Method: A self-reporting questionnaire was distributed among 547 Hungarian social service managers. All the participants were over 18 (with an average of 45.7). Women were highly overrepresented in the sample (Female = 84.8%). EI was measured by the Hungarian-validated version of the Assessing Emotions Scale (AES). Burnout and workplace resources were assessed by adopting the relevant scales from the Hungarian version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II questionnaire. A mediational analysis was carried out to explore the relationship between the variables.

Results: To assess EI, a three-factor structure of AES was developed, best suiting the Hungarian social service managers' sample: EI-Positivity (positive appraisal, α= .802), EI-Self (understanding own emotions, α = .751), EI-Others (understanding others emotions, α= .785). The mediational models of all three scales support that EI could positively influence workplace society resources and, through them, protect against burnout. Both EI-Others and EI-Positivity had a negative significant indirect effect on burnout through the paths of community and trust (EIO β = -.013, SE = .007, CI 95% [-.027, -.001]; EIP β = -.016, SE = .008, CI 95% [-.034; -.001], although in case of EI-Self, only a marginal tendency was captured.

Conclusions: The results of this study support the advantageous effect of EI and workplace society resources on burnout and, therefore, could provide insight for further social policy interventions and training.

Funding: This research has received funding from the No. EFOP-3.8.2-16-2016-00001 and VEKOP-7.5.1-16-2016-00001 Project, in the framework of the Hungarian Social Service Management Training Master's program, 2019.