Quality of social sharing of emotions alleviates job burnout: The role of meaning of work

Abstract

Past research has demonstrated that finding meaning in work is a dynamic process during interactions with colleagues and supervisors and protects against job burnout. At the same time, past studies have shown that the need to achieve meaning motivates people to share their emotions. Building on this, we hypothesized that workers who have more experience of quality social sharing of emotions about their work with relatives, colleagues, and supervisors are less at risk of job burnout. A cross-sectional survey of 611 working-aged adults in Belgium (mean age 39.25 years) supported this primary hypothesis. In addition, the hypothesis that meaning of work mediates the relationships between experience of quality social sharing of emotions and job burnout was also supported. The study provides evidence that social sharing of emotions reduces job burnout by helping to make sense of work situations and reinforcing relationships with others.