Mindfulness as a Mediating Factor between Empathy and Burnout in People of Caring Professions

Abstract

People working in caring professions are at increased risk of experiencing compassion fatigue and burnout. The aims of this study were to investigate potential mediating effects of mindfulness on burnout. This is a cross-sectional study of mental health professionals working in psychologically challenging settings. Thirty-seven professionals (all female) were assessed for empathy, trait mindfulness and Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) measure that includes subscales of Burnout, Compassion satisfaction and Compassion fatigue/Secondary trauma. Pathway analysis was applied to test potential direct and indirect effects of empathy on subscales of ProQOL and the mediating effects of mindfulness on those relationships. Our study demonstrate that empathy had no independent direct effect on burnout. There was a significant negative indirect effect of empathy on burnout, with trait mindfulness serving as a mediating factor. Moreover, trait mindfulness also had an independent negative effect on burnout. Our results provide evidence for the role of trait mindfulness in the relationship between empathy and burnout in professionals. Trait mindfulness appears to be a protective factor against burnout.