The Mediating Effect of Recovery Experience and Emotional Contagion on Work Stressor and Job Burnout among Nigeria Corporate Employees

In human resource management and regarding employee mental health in the workplace, job burnout, and work stressors are fundamental issues as they affect not only the employees' wellness but also the organization's sustainability as a whole. Embedded in the Conservation of Resources theory and the Effort–Recovery model of working time, this quantitative study aims to answer questions of how recovery experience and emotional contagion affect the effect of work stressors on job burnout. In putting our hypotheses to the test, we targeted a sample of 305 corporate employees from different industry sectors in Nigeria. The results showed that work stressors led to an increase in job burnout. The results also showed that work stressors and recovery experience were correlated in such a way that work stressor caused recovery experience, which, in turn, enhanced the work-stressor-job burnout relationship. In this study, work stressor had no relationship or influence with emotional contagion; consequently, there was no mediation effect of emotional contagion between work stressors and job burnout. On the other hand, there was a direct relationship between emotional contagion and job burnout, although no relationship existed between the recovery experience and job burnout. These findings are in accordance with the Conservation of Resources theory and the Effort-Recovery model, thereby increasing understanding of job burnout as experienced by workers in organizations as a result of work demands. This will be beneficial to the organization whose intention is to reduce employees´ burnout and their welfare.