THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND DEMOGRAPHIC AND BIOGRAPHIC VARIABLES MEASURED ON DISCRETE SCALES

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CHAPTER 3 THE RESEARCH ARGUMENT

RESEARCH PROBLEM

Research into the antecedents of burnout has largely focused on the role of situational variables (such as work and organisational context) in the development of burnout. While this research has made an undeniably significant contribution to our understanding of the burnout phenomenon, recent research suggests that subjective identity perceptions also play a considerable role in the development of burnout (Buunk et al., 2007; Vanheule & Verhaeghe, 2004; 2005). The present research therefore extends this focus on the role of subjective identity perceptions in the development of burnout by exploring the relationship between role identity and burnout among client service employees
It is argued that employees draw on the dominant client discourse of the organisation and construct discursively informed role identities for themselves. In client service organisations, the client ethic is likely to contain expectations that the employee behave in a subordinate and subservient manner towards the client. Role identities based on this kind of discourse are likely to translate role-related behaviours and attitudes which could contribute to the development of. It is noted that client service organisations by their very nature are necessarily driven by strong client ethics, and that the norms and values enshrined within these ethics may, to some extent, require that the client is placed in a position of power relative to the employee. If, however, this discourse results in the formation of role identities that contribute to burnout, a number of negative organisational outcomes could result.
Because role identities are discursively constructed in response to dominant organisational client discourses, an understanding of the manner in which they could potentially contribute to the development of burnout is essential. Such an understanding will enable managers and organisational development practitioners to frame client discourse in such a way as to enable the creation of empowered role identities. As a result, organisational practitioners and managers will be provided with a further point of intervention with which to reduce the potentially negative effects of burnout in client service environments.
In this chapter, the research argument is developed by establishing conceptual links between the concepts of role identity and burnout. A series of research questions are developed and the objectives of the research are presented.

THE RESEARCH ARGUMENT

As discussed in the opening chapter of this dissertation, the notion of client service is assuming an ever-more pervasive influence over the manner in which work and organisations are structured. According to Sturdy (2001: 3) “customer service is colonising more and more activities and ideas” and is evident in the manner in which we structure and define work. Clients are playing an increasingly active role in the supervision of employees and are therefore able to exert considerable influence over organisations and their employees. Rosenthal, Peccei and Hill (2001: 18) maintain that the concept of “customer sovereignty” has become the dominant socio-economic discourse and go on to show how representations of client service have evolved in the academic literature of recent years. They make a distinction between various accounts of client influence, ranging from post-modern accounts of the sovereign customer to the control perspective where the client is seen as an “accomplice” to management power.
Using Burke’s (1991a; 1991b; 1997) identity control model as a framework, it is argued that the manner in which client service employees define their role identities carries important implications for role-related attitudes and behaviours. These behaviours and attitudes can, in turn, either facilitate or inhibit the development of burnout. If, for instance, these role-related behaviours contribute to role conflict, role ambiguity or role overload, burnout could result. Similarly, if these role-related attitudes result in feelings associated with a loss of control or autonomy, inequity and a sense of failure and defeat, the client service employee may develop burnout.
Figure 10 presents the conceptual framework upon which the research argument is based and is discussed in detail in the paragraphs that follow. It should be noted, however, that while the literature reviewed in the previous chapter suggests causal linkages between the variables depicted in the conceptual framework, the objective of the present research is not to test for directions of causality between the variables. Instead, the research aims to explore the potential for relationships between burnout and role identity.
According to the conceptual framework, role identity can contribute to the development of burnout in a number of ways. Client service employees construct role identities for themselves by drawing on the client discourse of the organisation (Alvesson & Willmott, 2004). These role identities comprise a meaning content (A) that encapsulate a set of role-related expectations that carries both behavioural (A1) and affective (A2) implications for the client service employee (McCall & Simmons, 1978). Since the expectations contained in the identity standard prescribe the range of appropriate behaviours available to the individual in question (Steward et al., 2009), employees working in organisations with a strong client service ethic may derive role identities from the organisational discourse that place them in a subordinate and subservient position to that of the client. It is suggested that this position of subordination and subservience may predispose the client service employee to adopt behavioural patterns that could result in role overload, role ambiguity and/or role conflict – ultimately leading to burnout (Low et al., 2001; Singh et al., 1994).
The meaning content of the identity standard could also influence work-related attitudes and perceptions (A2), which, if characterised by feelings of inequity (Truchot Deregard, 2001), a loss of autonomy (Fernet et al, 2004; Xanthopoulou et al., 2007) and a sense of failure and defeat (Buunk et al., 2007; Pines, 2002), could contribute to the development of burnout. For instance, employees with role identities that place them in a subordinate or subservient position in relation to the client may experience feelings associated with a loss of control or autonomy. As discussed in the preceding sections on burnout, such a loss of control or autonomy may result in the development of burnout by engendering a loss of status, a loss of self worth and failure (Buunk et al., 2007; Fernet et al., 2009).
While burnout could result from the nature of a specific role identity (A), the present study also argues that processes related to the failed verification of a role identity (B) could contribute to burnout. For example, the identity standards of some client service employees may encompass role-related expectations that are of such a high service standard that it would be impossible for the client service employee to adequately meet these expectations. As shown in the preceding chapter, non-verification of the self through the identity process can result in feelings of anxiety, distress and failure (Stets & Burke, 2003) – all of which have been linked to the development of burnout (Buunk et al., 2007; Vanheule & Verhaeghe, 2004; 2005). Furthermore, when an individual’s perceptions of the situation (input) do not match the expectations contained in the identity standard, the person will act to counteract this imbalance (Burke, 1991a; 1991b; 1997; 2004). In the situation just described, where the expectations contained in the identity standard may be impossible for the client service employee to meet, it would be plausible to assert that the employee may adopt behaviours to counter this imbalance by trying even harder to meet the identity expectations. This may result in role overload, which could ultimately contribute to burnout (Lee & Ashforth, 1993; 1996).
In order to explore the relationships depicted in the conceptual model presented above, the present study will test whether the role identities of high burnout employees differ from the role identities of low burnout employees. While the dominant client discourse of the organisation will shape the meaning content of individual role identities, Holmer-Nadesan (1996) has shown how employees internalise these discourses differently, and, in so doing, adopt different identities. It is my view that since role identities define and constrain behaviour, certain role identities could predispose the client service employee to adopt behavioural patterns and work-related perceptions that could induce burnout. Individuals whose role identities are difficult to verify within the client service context, or those who identify strongly with the client service role and then fail to verify these identities, may develop burnout. Other identities may foster attitudes of empowerment and autonomy and may therefore act as buffers to burnout.
It is further suggested that employees working in the client service role will construct an identity standard based on their interpretation of the dominant client discourse of the organisation. Client service employees working in organisations with a strong service ethic may derive role identities from this discourse that place them in a subservient and subordinate position to that of the client. This position of subordination and subservience may place undue demands on the employee, resulting in emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced feelings of personal accomplishment. It is however, not the intention of the present study to describe and analyse the actual client discourse of the organisations included in the study. The present research is rather concerned with the perception and interpretation of this discourse by client service employees; the manner in which the employee internalises this discourse and uses it to construct an appropriate role identity; and to what extent this constructed identity can result in burnout. Since the discursive construction of identity is a uniquely individual activity, not all client service employees working for an organisation with a strong client ethic will develop burnout. Some employees may interpret this discourse in such a way that they construct role identities that render them subordinate to the client. Other client service employees may interpret and internalise this client discourse in such a way that they develop identities that empower them in relation to the client. It is this difference in terms of perception, interpretation and internalisation that the present study intends to investigate.
The objective of the present study is therefore to explore the relationship between discursively constructed role identity and burnout among client service employees. It will also describe the mechanisms by virtue of which this relationship exists and examine the extent to which these role identities are constructed in response to the dominant organisational client discourse. It is argued that through the process of identity construction, client service employees will, to varying degrees, internalise the client discourse of the organisation, and assume role identities in accordance with this discourse. In accordance with Burke’s (1991a) identity control model discussed in the previous chapter, these role identities carry implications for both behaviour and the formation of role-related attitudes. Depending on the nature of these identities, these role-related behaviours and attitudes could result in burnout.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objective of this research is to explore the relationship between role identity and burnout amongst client service employees and to examine the mechanisms by virtue of which this relationship exists. In so doing, the research will explore the differences in the role identities of respondents measuring higher in burnout with the role identities of respondents measuring lower in burnout. Furthermore, the present research seeks to describe how client service employees perceive, interpret and internalise the dominant client discourse of the organisation when constructing role identities for themselves. The research will also examine whether high burnout employees differ from low burnout employees in the manner in which they perceive, interpret and internalise this organizational discourse.

CHAPTER 1: THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND CONTEXT 
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM AND CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
1.3 DEFINITION OF KEY CONCEPTS
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE DISSERTATION
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 
2.1 STRESS AND BURNOUT IN CLIENT SERVICE ENVIRONMENTS
2.2 BURNOUT
2.3 ROLE IDENTITY
CHAPTER 3: THE RESEARCH ARGUMENT 
3.1 RESEARCH PROBLEM
3.2 THE RESEARCH ARGUMENT
3.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
3.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
3.5 CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 THE SAMPLE
4.3 THE QUANTITATIVE PHASE METHODOLOGY
4.4 THE QUALITATIVE PHASE
CHAPTER 5: QUANTITATIVE RESULTS 
5.1 BURNOUT LEVELS
5.2 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND DEMOGRAPHIC AND BIOGRAPHIC VARIABLES MEASURED ON DISCRETE SCALES
5.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES MEASURED AT THE RATIO LEVEL
5.4 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND RESPONDENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE CLIENT RELATIONSHIP
5.5 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE AREAS
5.6 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND PERCEIVED SATISFACTION WITH STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS
5.7 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE ORGANISATION
5.8 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND THE PERCEIVED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SELF AND THE CLIENT
5.9 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND PERCEPTIONS OF THE COUNTER-ROLE
5.10 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BURNOUT AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SELF (SELF IN ROLE)
5.11 SUMMARY OF RESULTS
CHAPTER 6: QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS 
6.1 INTRODUCTION
6.2 THE CODING PROCESS
6.3 DATA PRESENTATION
6.4 SUMMARY OF RESULTS
CHAPTER 7: DISCUSSION 
7.1 INTRODUCTION
7.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
7.3 INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS
7.4 CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH
7.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE PRESENT RESEARCH
7.6 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
7.7 IN CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
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