Engagement and burnout: analysing their association patterns.

This study explored the negative patterns of association between Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization with the dimensions of Engagement, while it was hypothesized a positive link with Personal Accomplishment. The sample was composed by 112 Spanish human services professionals who work with mentally retarded people. The analysis showed moderate negative correlations among scores on Emotional Exhaustion and on all three Engagement scales (-.55 for Vigor; -.41 for Dedication; -.24 for Absorption), positive correlations among scores on Personal Accomplishment and Engagement dimensions (Vigor .57; Dedication .54; Absorption .50), and only significant correlations between scores on Depersonalization and Vigor (-.39) and on Dedication (-.22). The data obtained using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey did not support the hypothesis of stronger negative correlations between the measures, Emotional Exhaustion-Vigor and Depersonalization-Dedication, hypothesized in the conceptual model developed by Schaufeli, Salanova, González-Romá, and Bakker.