Burnout in Academics: An Empirical Study in Private Universities in Malaysia

Abstract

The days when academe was regarded as a low-stress working environment were over. In the midst of changing environment alongside with advanced technology, teaching professionals experienced great pressure to stay abreast with new knowledge, skills or undertake new tasks. When academics do not experience a sense of well-being at work and feel lack of competencies, this may lead academics to experience high level of stress or even leave the teaching professions. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the background characteristics of academics in private universities in Malaysia with burnout characteristics. A total of 229 academicians from private universities in Malaysia were recruited conveniently for this study. This study revealed approximately 6% of the academics demonstrated burnout characteristics and they were generally young with junior academic rank. In addition, lower total quality of working life score was found for those academics who exhibited burnout characteristics. In conclusion, it is essential for universities to recognize burnout because of its detrimental effects not only on academics, but also on the well-being of students. Hence, this study highly recommends universities to develop and implement appropriate intervention strategies to equip academics with necessary skills to combat burnout.