Curvilinear relationship between burnout and work engagement among staff in community services for the elderly: A correlation study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there is a curvilinear relationship between burnout and work engagement among staff in Chinese community services for the elderly. METHODS: A stratified whole-group random sampling method was used to survey 244 staff members from eight communities in two cities. Data were collected using the Maslach Burnout Inventory scale (MBI) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale- 9 (UWES- 9). The curve estimation method explored the functional model of burnout and work engagement scales. RESULTS: Two hundred forty-four staff members completed the survey. Burnout, depersonalization (DP), and personal accomplishment (PA) were found to be related to work engagement in a cubic function (R(2) = 0.166, P < 0.05), (R(2) = 0.061, P < 0.05), and (R(2) = 0.2230, P < 0.05), respectively. There was no statistically significant relationship between emotional exhaustion (EE) and work engagement (P > 0.05). “Personal Accomplishment” is related to work engagement in a U-shaped curve. CONCLUSIONS: There was a cubic function relationship between burnout and work engagement, where “personal accomplishment” was related to work engagement in a U-shaped curve. Therefore, the government and related service organizations should understand the impact of different levels of burnout on work engagement and take targeted measures to alleviate burnout and improve work engagement by targeting emotions and stroke.