Examining the Relationship Between Work Demands and Burnout During COVID-19 and the Moderating Effects of Professional Social Support and Psychological Flexibility

Abstract

Employees in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA) are at high risk of feeling exhausted and disengaged, which are manifestations of burnout (e.g., Plantiveau et al., 2018; Slowiak & DeLongchamp, 2021). The thoughts or plans to leave one’s place of employment, known as turnover intentions, are among many negative outcomes of burnout. Turnover is a major concern in human service organizations, partially due to the costs associated with hiring and training new practitioners (Lee et al., 2018). The current study examined the relationship between work demands and burnout for ABA practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether supervisor support, coworker support, and psychological flexibility weaken that relationship. In a sample of 298 ABA practitioners, 87.25% reported moderate to high levels of burnout, which was positively associated with work demands. While supervisor support, coworker support, and psychological flexibility are predictors of burnout, moderation analyses revealed that they do not moderate the relationship between work demands and burnout. Results of this study contribute to the literature by providing a pre/during pandemic comparison of job burnout among ABA practitioners. Findings can inform the creation of interventions that help address burnout among this population.