The relationship between job burnout and intention to change occupation in the accounting profession: the mediating role of psychological well-being

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationship between job burnout, psychological well-being and intention to change occupation among accounting professionals. It focuses on the role of psychological well-being in explaining the link between job burnout and intention to change occupation.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected with the help of a structured questionnaire. The final sample includes 218 accounting professionals in the private sector. To test the hypothesized model in this study, IBM AMOS ver26 was used to perform the structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The results of this study show that job burnout has a positive impact on the intention to change occupation and a negative impact on psychological well-being. In addition, psychological well-being was found to mediate the relationship between job burnout and intention to change occupation.

Practical implications

This study provides important implications for accounting firms and recommends that they implement the necessary practices to increase the psychological well-being of accounting staff to reduce job burnout and intention to change occupation.

Originality/value

This work complements current studies in the field of accounting by highlighting the intermediary role of psychological well-being on the relationship between job burnout and intention to change profession among accounting professionals.

Citation

Çollaku, L., Aliu, M. and Ahmeti, S. (2023), "The relationship between job burnout and intention to change occupation in the accounting profession: the mediating role of psychological well-being", Management Research Review, Vol. 46 No. 12, pp. 1694-1710. https://doi.org/10.1108/MRR-10-2022-0726