Organizational Climate and STEM Faculty Job Burnout

• In Event: 161 - Section on Organizations, Occupation and Work Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. The Organization of Education

Abstract

In this paper, we empirically examine aspects of the organizational climate associated with job burnout among STEM faculty. We use the multidimensional theory of burnout as a framework, highlighting the primary role of the organization in fostering a climate that either discourages or encourages faculty burnout. Data for our study are taken from faculty employed in STEM departments at a midsized Midwestern university (n = 117). Consistent with past work examining university faculty (both STEM and non-STEM), STEM women faculty reported higher levels of job burnout than men faculty. Of the organizational climate variables examined – access to information, faculty influence in decision making, scholarly isolation, coworker social support, and interpersonal conflict –access to information and interpersonal conflict were statistically significantly associated with job burnout. STEM faculty who reported less access to information needed to do their jobs and greater interpersonal conflict reported higher levels of job burnout. We regard this optimistically because of the many factors making up the organizational climate in academia, opening lines of communication is perhaps one of the most amenable to change.

Authors

• Daphne Pedersen, University of North Dakota

• Krista Lynn Minnotte, University of North Dakota