Structural Empowerment, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction: Comparison of Public and Private Social Service Centers

Abstract

Based on Kanter’s model of power, this research aimed to study burnout as a mediator of the association between structural empowerment and job satisfaction in Spanish social service workers. Data from 177 workers from public centers (sample 1) and 179 workers from private centers (sample 2) were analyzed using path analysis and bootstrapping. Structural empowerment had both a direct and indirect effect, reducing burnout levels, on job satisfaction in both samples. The findings point to the importance of structural empowerment for ensuring the quality of working life of social service professionals from both public and private centers.