The moderator and mediator roles of alienation in the effect of job insecurity on emotional exhaustion: The sample of research officers

Job insecurity is an element that is important in the business life of individuals and affects them. Although precarious working is an extremely important factor for all study groups, the perception of job insecurity experienced by research assistants is discussed in this study. It was thought that the perception of job insecurity faced by research assistants in working life might be related to emotional exhaustion and alienation. In this respect, the relationship between job insecurity, emotional exhaustion and alienation experienced by research assistants was examined in the study. In addition, it was also examined whether alienation plays a mediating and regulatory role in the emotional exhaustion effect of the perception of job insecurity experienced by research assistants. Another purpose of the research is to reveal whether the experiences of the research assistants, job insecurity, emotional exhaustion and alienation differ according to their demographic characteristics. Accordingly, the research was carried out on 387 research assistants. To test the hypotheses; correlation, regression analysis, t test and ANOVA analysis were used. According to the results of the research, a significant relationship was found between job insecurity, emotional exhaustion and alienation. According to the results of the regression analysis, alienation has no regulatory role in the effect of job insecurity on emotional exhaustion; however, it has been determined that alienation has a full mediating effect on the effect of job insecurity on emotional exhaustion. Perception of job insecurity experienced by research assistants; It also showed a significant difference according to marital status, age, education level, and scope of staff. It was observed that the emotional exhaustion levels experienced by research assistants differed only according to the time worked. Within the scope of the research, it was revealed that the alienation levels of research assistants do not differ according to demographic characteristics. Keywords: Job Insecurity, Alienation, Burnout, Emotional Exhaustion, Research Assistants