NEWS & INSIGHT
MATERIALISM COMES BEFORE A FALL IN NEW STUDY
SCHOOL: Faculty of Administration and Economics, Universidad Diego Portales COUNTRY: Chile
Materialism is a key forerunner of job burnout, according to a new study led by Valentina Reyes, a professor at Universidad Diego Portales’ (UDP) Faculty of Administration and Economics. “The objectives that we pursue at work for ourselves can increase our risk of burnout,” Reyes explained. In the study, materialism is defined as the relative importance given to extrinsic goals, such as fame, money and status, as opposed to intrinsic goals, such as self-development, relationships and altruism. “When materialistic goals become our primary reason for going to work, basic psychological needs at work, such as autonomy, relationships and competence, are more likely to be thwarted, leading to a higher risk of job exhaustion. This, in turn, brings with it greater barriers to basic psychological needs, generating a vicious circle for the health of workers,” Reyes continued.
The key takeway is that organisations should be careful how they reward employees and incentivise their performance. “Avoiding the promotion of materialistic values in organisational practices, such as payment systems and performance ratings, and promoting contexts that help satisfy the basic psychological needs of employees would help reduce the risk of worker burnout and, in turn, increase organisational productivity,” argued the UDP professor, who is attached to the faculty’s School of Commercial Engineering. Funded by the Chilean Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and Fondef (the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development) the study, drawn from a sample of almost 2,000 Chilean workers using self-determination theory, was co-authored with researchers at Adolfo Ibáñez University, Sussex University and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and has been published in the journal, Work & Stress . TBD
Ambition | OCTOBER | 9
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