Carrying the load: a moderated mediation study exploring the link between perceived organizational support and burnout amongst management consultants

Bernard, Dominik; McGuire, David; Harte, Patrick; Müller, Patrick

Abstract

Purpose
This study investigates the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS), employee resilience and workload on burnout in the consulting sector, which is characterized by long working hours and high pressure.

Design/methodology/approach
The proposed hypotheses were tested using data collected from a sample of 169 management consultants. The key constructs were examined using the PROCESS statistical package.

Findings
The findings indicate that POS has a positive effect on exhaustion, cynicism and professional inefficacy. This effect is partially mediated by employee resilience for all three dimensions. A significant moderation between workload and POS has been found for the cynicism dimension of burnout, suggesting that the positive effect of high POS is especially useful for consultants with high workloads (exceeding 60 working hours per week).

Practical implications
These findings highlight the importance of making employees feel supported in high-pressure work environments, as this has both a direct effect on employees' mental health and an indirect effect by increasing resilience, which in turn reduces the risk of burnout.

Originality/value
The study addresses the paucity of research on the workloads of management consultants and how they navigate burnout. The findings show that both personal resources (in this case, resilience) and organizational resources (POS) have a favorable impact on preventing burnout.

Citation

Bernard, D., McGuire, D., Harte, P., & Müller, P. (online). Carrying the load: a moderated mediation study exploring the link between perceived organizational support and burnout amongst management consultants. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, https://doi.org/10.1108/joepp-07-2024-0306

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 20, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jan 23, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance
• Print ISSN: 2051-6614
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/joepp-07-2024-0306
• Keywords: Consulting, burnout, PROCESS models, resilience, POS, workload