Work engagement and burnout: real, redundant, or both? A further examination using a bifactor modelling approach

Abstract

Researchers have often debated whether burnout and work engagement are truly different concepts, or whether they are opposite poles of the same construct and therfore redundant. Recent perspectives postulate that they are both real and redundant. In this paper we examine these three competing views using a bifactor modelling approach. A sample of 1787 Argentine employees completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey (MBI-GS), and other work-related measures. Bifactor analysis showed that at the construct level, work engagement and burnout are not adequately represented by a single well-being dimension, indicating that they are distinct constructs. At the dimension level, vigour and exhaustion could not be accounted for by a general energy factor, meaning that these constructs are distinct rather than direct opposites of one energy continuum. In contrast, dedication and cynicism were substantially explained by a single identification factor, suggesting that they represent each other’s opposite along an identification continuum. However, dedication and cynicism displayed a unique pattern of relationships with different external variables, implying that they are also real constructs. Collectively, the findings indicate that each of the competing views on the work engagement-burnout relationship has its merits. Implications for conceptualization and measurement are discussed.