Burnout-related ill-being at work : Associations between mindfulness and acceptance skills, worksite factors, and experienced well-being in life

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to investigate the associations between mindfulness and acceptance (MAA) skills and burnout-related ill-being at work (ILLB) after eliminating the impact of worksite (WS) and general well-being in life (WELLB) factors. The results were derived from data on employees (n = 168) of varying professional backgrounds, who experienced relatively high levels of burnout. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling (SEM) and the Cholesky decomposition method, since these allow for the investigation of multiple measures and multiple factors in relation to one another. In relation to ill-being at work, the analyses revealed a general MAA factor as well as a specific cognitive fusion factor. After controlling for WS factors, MAA factor shared a 38% variance and the fusion factor a 22% variance with burnout-related ILLB. The results also indicated that cognitive fusion had a strong and unique association with ILLB, even after controlling for WS factors, general well-being, and general MAA skills. Overall, these findings support the view that skills related to psychological flexibility play an important role in enhancing well-being at work.