Publisher
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Place of Publication
Chattanooga (Tenn.)
Abstract
Cultural climate data based on location may impact individual work attitudes. For example, Alimoglu et al. (2009) found that nurses exposed to sunlight for at least three hours a day experienced less work stress and higher satisfaction at work, calling researchers to pay attention to climate characteristics that may affect individual well-being at work. Furthermore, weather conditions are an important yet understudied antecedent of individual well-being at work (Venz et al., 2021). Weather was reliably found to relate to positive well-being states, suggesting that measuring average days of sunshine and days of rain in each zip code area may have a direct or moderating effect on work stress and burnout. This study will examine the influence of zip code-based objective climate data on burnout and engagement. Consistent with previous literature, two hypotheses will be tested: H1: Individuals who reside in zip codes with less average rain per year and greater average sun per year will report lower levels of burnout. H2: Individuals who reside in zip codes with less average rain per year and greater average sun per year will report higher levels of engagement. Using Prolific, we recruited 660 working individuals over the age of 18 who worked a minimum of 30 hours per week. Each individual was granted $4.00 for their participation in the study. Burnout was measured with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI; Demerouti et al., 2001) to measure burnout through two perspectives: exhaustion and disengagement. Work engagement will be measured with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale measures vigor, dedication, and absorption. Weather and climate data were obtained from a City Report database based on participant zip codes. With the data presented, other occupational and demographic variables are considered to measure extraneous variables and influences. Results indicated a significant negative correlation of .109 (p < .05) between average rainfall and burnout levels. This suggests that higher rainfall may be associated with lower burnout levels. No significant interaction was found between the average days of sun exposure and burnout. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between average days of rain and sun with work engagement. When analyzing our findings, it was found that there is no relationship between engagement and climate variables. This may suggest that individual perceptions of climate may be more significant than objective weather conditions. Additionally, Hypothesis 1 was not supported, and it was significant in the opposite direction than expected. This could indicate that adverse weather may create an environment that produces engagement or that rain may have a recovery effect. Further research is needed to understand this finding to best provide insight for practitioners.
Date
11-9-2024
Subject
Industrial and organizational psychology
Document Type
posters
Language
English
Rights
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Included in
When the forecast predicts burnout: the impact of sunshine and rainfall on engagement
Cultural climate data based on location may impact individual work attitudes. For example, Alimoglu et al. (2009) found that nurses exposed to sunlight for at least three hours a day experienced less work stress and higher satisfaction at work, calling researchers to pay attention to climate characteristics that may affect individual well-being at work. Furthermore, weather conditions are an important yet understudied antecedent of individual well-being at work (Venz et al., 2021). Weather was reliably found to relate to positive well-being states, suggesting that measuring average days of sunshine and days of rain in each zip code area may have a direct or moderating effect on work stress and burnout. This study will examine the influence of zip code-based objective climate data on burnout and engagement. Consistent with previous literature, two hypotheses will be tested: H1: Individuals who reside in zip codes with less average rain per year and greater average sun per year will report lower levels of burnout. H2: Individuals who reside in zip codes with less average rain per year and greater average sun per year will report higher levels of engagement. Using Prolific, we recruited 660 working individuals over the age of 18 who worked a minimum of 30 hours per week. Each individual was granted $4.00 for their participation in the study. Burnout was measured with the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI; Demerouti et al., 2001) to measure burnout through two perspectives: exhaustion and disengagement. Work engagement will be measured with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale measures vigor, dedication, and absorption. Weather and climate data were obtained from a City Report database based on participant zip codes. With the data presented, other occupational and demographic variables are considered to measure extraneous variables and influences. Results indicated a significant negative correlation of .109 (p < .05) between average rainfall and burnout levels. This suggests that higher rainfall may be associated with lower burnout levels. No significant interaction was found between the average days of sun exposure and burnout. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between average days of rain and sun with work engagement. When analyzing our findings, it was found that there is no relationship between engagement and climate variables. This may suggest that individual perceptions of climate may be more significant than objective weather conditions. Additionally, Hypothesis 1 was not supported, and it was significant in the opposite direction than expected. This could indicate that adverse weather may create an environment that produces engagement or that rain may have a recovery effect. Further research is needed to understand this finding to best provide insight for practitioners.
Department
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Dept. of Psychology