Job redesign as an intervention strategy of burnout: Organizational perspective

Abstract

This study sought to identify job characteristics associated with burnout in the context of the construction industry and then formulated job redesign as an intervention strategy of burnout. A survey was undertaken to explore the experience of burnout among 403 construction professionals working in the Hong Kong construction industry. The results of the study show that long working hours, role overload, role conflict, role ambiguity, lack of autonomy, and job security are significant job determinants of burnout. Job redesign was formulated based on these findings and implemented in a company. Levels of burnout experienced by the same respondent both before and 1 year after the job redesign demonstrate a significant difference, implying that job redesign does contribute to lower levels of burnout. The importance, ways, and constraints of job redesign as an intervention to manage burnout at organizational levels are discussed. The results of this study should be of direct benefit to policy makers by providing them with a foundation for designing effective organizational interventions to manage burnout and minimize a serious and often hidden cost. © 2009 ASCE.