Burnout and Mindfulness-A Study of South African Employees Working in a Business Process Services Environment

The business process industry, especially call centre has been responsible for the growth in job opportunities; however, working in a call centre is not always a pleasant experience. The call centre environment is often seen as a stressful one and can create burnout for the individuals who work in it. This research paper hence attempts to explore the degree of burnout in a South African Call Centre and to explore the association of mindfulness and burnout by examining a random sample of 115 Call Centre staff based in the South African telecommunications industry. Two research instruments Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were used in the study, along with a demographic questionnaire. Both these tools have been widely published and have been used within a South African context to assess the validity. The research findings suggest that individuals with higher levels of inherent mindfulness result in lower levels of burnout. In addition, the result of the research also varies within the split between call taking versus back office support staff. The findings of the research study can be utilized by the call centre industry to reduce the burnout of its employees.