Communal Orientation and the Burnout Syndrome Among Nurses: A Replication and Extension1

The present study focused on the distinction between two equity considerations in “people” jobs: the relationship with the recipients with whom one works and the exchange relationship with the organization for which one works. The sample consisted of nurses who were employed in one particular nursing home for mentally retarded patients. The results show that perceived inequity in both types of relationships is linked to emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment. As expected, individual differences in communal orientation differentiate when nurses feel inequitably treated in their relationships with their patients. Moreover, the results suggest that low communally oriented nurses restore equity in their relationships with patients by withdrawing emotionally (depersonalization). In contrast, nurses who felt inequitably treated in the employee-employer relationship reported a higher intent to quit. No direct link between burnout symptoms and the intention to quit was observed.