The impact of perceived organizational support on the relationship between job stress and burnout: a mediating or moderating role?

Compared to social support, organizational support in the job stress-burnout relationship has received little attention. Drawing on perceived organizational support (POS) theory and the notion of support as a stress buffer, this study examines the mediating and moderating effects of POS on the relationships between job stress and the three components of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy) using a sample of 351 teachers in China. We found that job stress had significant main effects and indirect effects via POS on exhaustion and inefficacy, but not cynicism. The hypotheses of POS moderating effects of job stress on the three components of burnout were not supported. Moreover, job stress had a stronger effect on exhaustion among head teachers compared to non-head teachers and a stronger effect on inefficacy among non-head teachers. Exhaustion predicted cynicism, which predicted inefficacy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Automated summary

The study found that job stress significantly affects exhaustion and inefficacy among teachers, but not cynicism; perceived organizational support can mitigate the impact of job stress on burnout, but no moderating effects of POS on the three components of burnout were observed. The research also revealed that job stress has differing effects on exhaustion and inefficacy depending on whether the teacher is a head teacher or not.