Burnoutklachten op het werk: De relatie met werklast, regelruimte en sociale steun

The present study among 170 nurses from a child-care department in a Dutch hospital was conducted to examine which form of social support from colleagues at work is most effective in reducing burnout symptoms. This was studied in the context of Karasek’s demand-control-support model which states that it is not high demands per se, but high demands in combination with a lack of control on the job and a lack of social support are associated with negative health-related outcomes such as burnout symptoms. Three forms of social support are distinguished: instrumental support, emotional support, and companionship. Data were subjected to regression analyses, controlling for negative affectivity and several demografic variables. No support for the demand-control-support model was found. However, the results suggest that instrumental support is most effective in buffering negative effects of a heavy workload. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed