Date of Award
8-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Social Sciences
Committee Chair/Advisor
Thomas Maher
Committee Member
Pierce Greenberg
Committee Member
Robert B. Sinclair
Abstract
Burnout is a critical concern in modern workplaces, especially for employees with demanding or irregular schedules. While prior research has shown that non-standard scheduling practices can contribute to emotional exhaustion, less is known about how perceptions of fairness in scheduling influence burnout over time. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) model, WSC is conceptualized as a job demand, while WSJ is treated as a job resource. This study investigates the effects of structural features of an employee’s work schedule, such as working evening shifts, night shifts, weekends, extended hours, or overtime (referred to here as Work Schedule Characteristics (WSC)) and how fair employees feel their schedules are (referred to as Work Schedule Justice (WSJ)). To do so, I use a two-wave survey dataset (N = 433) collected from U.S.-based workers on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Findings from a series of OLS regression models show that higher exposure to non-standard schedules, especially frequent overtime, is associated with increased burnout six weeks later. However, perceptions of fairness in scheduling significantly predict lower burnout, even after controlling for schedule demands and demographic variables. These findings are robust across all four WSJ dimensions. Further, the effect of WSC became non-significant when WSJ and WSC were modeled together, suggesting that fairness perceptions may buffer the negative effects of irregular schedules. This research highlights the importance of not only how schedules are structured but also how they are perceived and managed. The results suggest that enhancing scheduling fairness through transparent procedures, equitable outcomes, respectful treatment, and clear communication may be a promising strategy for reducing burnout across diverse workplace settings.
Recommended Citation
Sedghi, Zara, "What Drives Burnout? A Cross-Wave Study of Work Schedule Justice, Work Schedule Characteristics, and Demographic Predictors" (2025). All Theses. 4605.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4605