The mediating effect of self-compassion between the job stress and burnout levels of the working individuals

Objective: The aim of this research is to investigate the mediating effect of self compassion between the job stress and burnout levels of working individuals between 18 and 65 years old. Method: 429 individuals between the ages of 18 and 65 and working in Turkey participated in the research. The data have been collected with the snowball method by an online survey. Informed Consent Form, Sociodemographic Form, Job Stress Appraisal Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, Copenhagen Burnout Scale have been applied to the participants. The data have been analyzed with SPSS 22.0 application. Result: Self-compassion has been observed to be a partial mediator between job stress and burnout. In addition to that, between the burnout and the sub-scales such as the workload, working incapacity, organizational rules and subordinate relationships have also been observed to be a partial mediator for self-compassion. Job-stress scores of employees vary due to health precautions, health support, motivational support that were provided during the pandemic. The individuals that find their working environment at their homes inconvenient and considered as having difficulties on focusing, have been found to have higher stress levels than the other groups. It is observed that there is a significant difference between the job stress levels of individuals defining their work life- private life balance as poor. Conclusion: The mediator effect of self-compassion between the job-stress and the burnout levels has been researched and the results found to be meaningful. The negative effects of the job-stress have been known. It is thought that to decrease burnout due to job-stress, the importance of self-compassion will be substantial.