Emotional Labour, Burnout and Psychological Capital: A Study Among Teachers of Special Needs Children In Greater Accra and Eastern Regions of Ghana.

Abstract

Emotional labour and its influence on work-related outcomes among workers in organizations have gained prominence in the last three decades. Teachers of special needs children are one group of professionals who experience emotional labour in their daily work but are largely missing in current research. This thesis therefore sought to fill this gap by examining the impact of emotional labour on burnout among special needs teachers and how psychological capital moderates that association. The study was a purely quantitative method, specifically using cross-sectional survey. Data was collected from from which 149 questionnaires were used for the analysis. Out of these, 88 were male respondents and 61 female respondents. The age range was 18 to 60 years with a mean age of 36.5 years. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were used to select participants for the study. Emotional labour was measured using the Emotional Labour Scale (ELS),burnout with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-GS) and psychological capital with the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ).Data was analysed using Hierarchical Multiple Regression and factorial ANOVA. Findings from the study showed that surface acting and intensity increased burnout among the teachers. Resilience sub-scale of psychological capital attenuated the effect of intensity on burnout. Male teachers and those who were single and never married reported the highest burnout. The implications of the findings are discussed within the context of improving the mental well-being and productivity of teachers in special needs schools.