Abstract
M.Comm.
The main aims of this study were explored using the Job Demands-Control-Support (JDCS) model. The first aim was to test the isostrain and buffer hypothesis of the JDCS model. The second aim was to investigate the role that neuroticism played in the relationship referred to above. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample (N=644) represented a diverse range of working participants within the Gauteng region of South Africa. The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), the Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS), and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory Revised (NEO-FFI-R) were administered. In terms of the latter, only the items relating to neuroticism were analysed. The results indicated that job characteristics combined additively to predict burnout. Control moderated the relationship between demands and exhaustion. Neuroticism had a main effect on all three dimensions of burnout, and acted as a confounding variable in the relationship between demands and exhaustion. Neuroticism also acted as a buffer between demands and exhaustion, demands and cynicism, demands and professional efficacy, support and exhaustion and support and professional efficacy. The implications, limitations and recommendations relating to these results are discussed.