Music therapists’ job satisfaction, collective self-esteem, and burnout

General references show that the type of professional identity known as collective self-esteem could be an important factor in professionals’ job satisfaction and burnout. However, little attention has been paid to identifying the interactions of these three variables in music therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between music therapists’ job satisfaction, collective self-esteem, and burnout. Specifically, this paper emphasizes the role of collective self-esteem as a mediator between music therapists’ job satisfaction and burnout. Ninety professional music therapists in Korea participated in this study. The Korean Music Therapists’ Job Satisfaction Scale, the Collective Self-Esteem Scale, and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to measure music therapists’ job satisfaction, collective self-esteem, and burnout, respectively.The results showed that job satisfaction significantly predicted the emotional exhaustion (β = −.384, p = .000), depersonalization (β = −.106, p = .000), and personal achievement (β = .165, p = .000) subscales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Furthermore, collective self-esteem was found to have a partial mediating effect between job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion. The relationship between job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion is partially explained by how positively music therapists perceive their profession and how they think others view their profession. These findings suggest that promoting music therapists’ collective self-esteem may play an important role in preventing the emotional symptoms of burnout, especially when music therapists are not satisfied with their job. The role of music therapist educators in promoting the collective self-esteem of music therapists is discussed.

► This study investigated the relationship between music therapists’ job satisfaction, collective self-esteem, and burnout.
► Job satisfaction significantly predicted burnout.
► Collective self-esteem had a partial mediating effect between job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion.