Burnout Risks among Salespersons Under Job Demand and the Mediating Role of Abusive Supervision

CONTEXT: Salespersons in privately held retail textile shops face physical, emotional, and mental stresses, and most supervisors are untrained and abusive. These stresses may cause salesperson burnout. AIMS: To determine the effect of abusive supervision on the connection between job demands and job burnout. SETTING AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The job demand is measured using the Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire. To assess abusive supervision, we used an eight-item scale from Tepper, and the burnout measures questionnaire was used to measure job burnout. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Direct, indirect, and total effects of variables were analyzed using SPSS Process Macro. RESULTS: Indirect effect showed that the association between job demand and job burnout was mediated by abusive supervision: β = 6.3151, P < 0.001, bootstrap 95% confidence interval (CI) (5.6515, 7.0307). Direct effect between job demand and job burnout β = 1.5382, P < 0.001, bootstrap 95% CI (7.2254, 8.4812). CONCLUSIONS: High job demand and job burnout are prevalent among salespersons, and abusive supervision ignites the burnout syndrome of salespersons.