The relationship between emotional burnout and personal anxiety among teachers with or without hobbies

Abstract

This article is a review of an empirical study into the relationship between emotional burnout and personal anxiety in teachers with or without a hobby. The study took place at a municipal secondary school in the Leningrad Region. The sample consisted of 40 teachers with higher education and varying levels of experience, among them 20 with a hobby and 20 without it. The participants preferred creative and artistic hobbies, such as knitting, drawing, bead weaving, and others. The following methods were used: the Maslach Burnout Inventory by C. Maslach and S. Jackson, adapted by N. E. Vodopyanova, the Emotional Burnout Questionnaire by V. V. Boyko, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by C. D. Spielberger, adapted by Yu. L. Khanin. Correlation analysis was performed using Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient. Both samples reveal a significant positive correlation between the values of personal anxiety and the component of professional burnout known as psychoemotional exhaustion. In teachers with a hobby, personal anxiety is not associated with other indicators of emotional burnout. In teachers without a hobby, personal anxiety is associated not only with psychoemotional exhaustion but also with lower personal achievement. This suggests that anxiety in teachers with a hobby is related to fewer components and symptoms of emotional burnout. In the case of increased anxiety, having a hobby helps teachers maintain a positive selfperception in their profession and stay confident in the value of their work despite a lack of emotional resources. Teachers with a hobby have fewer components and symptoms of emotional burnout associated with each other compared to their colleagues without a hobby. These results can be instrumental in the professional training of future teachers and in the psychological and pedagogical support organized for teachers working for general education institutions.