Interconnections in Organizations: A Study on Interpersonal Relationship and Burnout as moderated by Length of Service and Position in the Company

Abstract

Burnout is one of the most common problems faced in everyday work life that may be attributed to three dimensions, namely, exhaustion, depersonalization, and inefficacy. However, given the rise of team-based roles in organizations that involves working with colleagues interdependently, a new concept comes into play – interpersonal relationship. This research aimed to identify how interpersonal relationships in the workplace correlate with all three components of burnout and how length of service and position in the company affect interpersonal relationships and burnout among employees in the Automatic Visual Inspection wing of the Production Division of Linearworks Corporation. This study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to answer the following objectives: 1) To identify the correlation of interpersonal relationship in the workplace with all three components of burnout, namely exhaustion, depersonalization, and inefficacy, 2) To determine the association between length of service in the company and interpersonal relationship and association between length of service in the company and burnout; and 3) To know the relation of position in the company on an employee’s interpersonal relationship and burnout. Based on Spearman’s Rho measure of correlation, results showed that there is a significantly low negative correlation between Exhaustion and Interpersonal Relationship (ρ = -.313, N = 56, p = .019) and Depersonalization with Interpersonal Relationship (ρ = -.335, N = 56, p = .012). To address the second objective, Spearman’s Correlation was also used. The results showed that there is no significant correlation (𝛼 = 0.05) between Exhaustion, Inefficacy, Depersonalization, and Interpersonal Relationship with Length of Service for employees, operators, and supervisors. As for the last objective, the t-Test for Independent Samples with Equal Variances was used. The result showed that at 𝛼 = 0.05, there is no significant difference on Exhaustion, Inefficacy, Depersonalization, and Interpersonal Relationship between employees and supervisors. However, based on interviews conducted, the relationships established by operators with their compeers and superiors differ from relationships established by supervisors with their subordinate, compeer, and superiors. The common thread among them is that they perceive relationships to be more comfortable and easier to establish when it is with compeers and subordinates as compared with superiors.