The influence of psychological resources on mineworkers' levels of burnout in a remote and isolated mining town in South Africa

The long-term effects of job stress can damage mineworkers' psychological and relationship well-being and lead to burnout. But workers do not react only passively to the work environment: by accessing their internal (personal) resources they can actively influence the environmental and work demands that may lead to burnout. This exploratory study investigated the role of two psychological resources, psychological capital (PsyCap) and mindfulness, in reducing the likelihood of burnout and improving psychological well-being in a sample of 238 mineworkers in Postmasburg, a remote location in South Africa. In general, the mineworkers had fairly low levels of burnout and high levels of both PsyCap and mindfulness. A statistically significant negative relationship was found between burnout and all the components of PsyCap (self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience), and between burnout and mindfulness. High levels of hope and mindfulness were found to be statistically significant predictors of lower levels of burnout in this sample. The findings suggest that using these personal resources more effectively is likely to improve employee well-being, to the benefit of both the individual and the organisation.