Kai Externbrink, Verena Thiem

• Experiencing relational devaluation at work through social stressors has been linked to various detrimental outcomes. In the current study, we investigate the role of hardiness and mindfulness as personal resources which help employees to effectively cope with such stressors and thereby prevent burnout. We focus on trait mindfulness as the innate capacity of paying and maintaining attention to present-moment experiences with an open and nonjudgmental attitude. It has been shown to promote concentration and well-being and to facilitate decision making; it is often seen as an important resource for overcoming challenges in everyday work life. Hardiness also constitutes a personality profile of dispositional resilience that describes how people deal with stressful events and includes the core aspects of challenge (conviction that challenges offer opportunities), engagement (actively tackling tasks and challenges) and a sense of control (conviction of influence over one's own life circumstances). People with high hardiness show better health and higher job satisfaction and performance. We build our hypothesis according to the extended version of the Job Demands–Resources model, which states that personal resources protect employees from burnout, because they shape employees’ perceptions of and reactions towards their work environment. In a similar vein, stress theory suggests that personal resources mitigate burnout through lower stress appraisals, greater use of adaptive coping, and flexibility in matching coping to appraisals. We measured social stressors at work with the scale developed by Frese et al and further asked participants to work on the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale and the short version of the Revised Norwegian Dispositional Resilience (Hardiness) Scale. Our cross-sectional study was based on a sample of N = 174 employees from a broad range of organizations and job types. Statistical Analyses revealed significant negative correlations of both personal resources with reported symptoms of burnout and the perception of social stressors as well. However, in line with prior research, they indeed did not attenuate the relationship between social stressors and emotional exhaustion at work. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations and avenues for future research are discussed.