The role of holistic care culture in mitigating burnout and enhancing engagement: A study among elderly service workers in Hong Kong

Abstract

Objectives: Elderly service work is a labor intensive and emotion demanding occupation. Workers in this field are prone to burnout, a form of emotional exhaustion at work. While their job well-being is associated with a number of job demands, little research has been done in exploring job resources to promote their well-being. Holistic care culture (HCC) was proposed as an organizational culture of holistic caring. This study explored the role of HCC in predicting job well-being and moderating the impact of perceived stress on job well-being. Method: A large-scale questionnaire survey was conducted among 992 elderly service workers of a major social service organization in Hong Kong, with a 93% response rate. Participants completed a standardized self-report questionnaire. Results: Structural equation modeling found HCC negatively predicted burnout (β=-0.32, p<0.01) and positively predicted engagement (β=0.36, p<0.01). HCC showed significant moderating on the relationship between perceived stress and job well-being in expected directions. The model explained 53.7% and 35.8% of variance in burnout and engagement. Conclusion: Findings from this study provides supportive evidence for HCC as a moderator to ameliorate burnout and facilitate engagement among elderly service workers. Further studies of rigorous design on HCC are recommended. Implication of this study for organizational practice was discussed. © 2011 Taylor & Francis.