Leisure Time Physical Activity and Burnout: Exploring Mediators

The present study aimed to identify potential mechanisms, including social support, physical fitness and stress resilience, psychological detachment and sleep quality, to explain the pathway between LTPA and core burnout symptoms (e.g., extreme tiredness, mental distancing) and secondary burnout symptoms (e.g., a depressed mood, non-specific psychological complaints). This was done by analyzing an existing longitudinal dataset with a six-month time lag using the PROCESS mediation model, in which 355 participants reported twice (T1 and T2) about their burnout symptoms, LTPA, social support, physical fitness, stress resilience, psychological detachment and sleep quality. The findings indicated that higher levels of LTPA at T1 were significantly positively related to social support at T1, non-significantly but positively related to psychological detachment at T1, and positively albeit non-significantly related sleep quality at T1. However, the results provide support only for the...Show moreThe present study aimed to identify potential mechanisms, including social support, physical fitness and stress resilience, psychological detachment and sleep quality, to explain the pathway between LTPA and core burnout symptoms (e.g., extreme tiredness, mental distancing) and secondary burnout symptoms (e.g., a depressed mood, non-specific psychological complaints). This was done by analyzing an existing longitudinal dataset with a six-month time lag using the PROCESS mediation model, in which 355 participants reported twice (T1 and T2) about their burnout symptoms, LTPA, social support, physical fitness, stress resilience, psychological detachment and sleep quality. The findings indicated that higher levels of LTPA at T1 were significantly positively related to social support at T1, non-significantly but positively related to psychological detachment at T1, and positively albeit non-significantly related sleep quality at T1. However, the results provide support only for the mediation model where physical fitness at T1 and stress resilience at T1 sequentially mediate the relationship between LTPA at T1 and core and secondary burnout symptoms at T2. This means that employees who engage in more LTPA have greater physical fitness, which in turn improves their stress resilience, and through that pathway, lowers burnout core and secondary symptoms. This implies that it is valuable for employees and companies to focus on increasing LTPA to increase physical fitness and stress resilience, and to therefore, lower burnout symptoms.Show less

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Leisure Time Physical Activity and Burnout: Exploring Mediators