In flight again with wings that were once broken; effects of post-traumatic growth and personal resources on burnout recovery

Purpose Adequate recovery from burnout is important to understand. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether post-traumatic growth (PTG) contributes to higher engagement and reduced symptoms of burnout and whether this process is mediated by personal resources. Design/methodology/approach In a cross-sectional survey, 166 Dutch workers who had fully recovered from burnout were questioned on their level of PTG, their personal resources (optimism, resilience and self-efficacy), and their levels of engagement and burnout. Findings Fully recovered workers scored somewhat higher on current burnout level, but did not differ from norm group workers in their engagement level. Moreover, PTG appeared to positively affect both higher engagement and lower burnout levels, which is fully mediated by personal resources. Originality/value This study is one of the first to study the role of PTG after (recovery from) burnout and reveals valuable findings for both research and practice.