For better and for worse

Abstract

This study examined the direct and buffering effects of mentoring on the relationship between adverse working conditions and positive (i.e. intrinsic job satisfaction and career satisfaction) and negative (i.e. the burnout dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment) employee outcomes. Moderated regression analyses on the data of 1,320 faculty members showed direct effects of mentoring on both positive and negative employee outcomes. Moreover, from the results of testing the buffering hypotheses, it appears that mentoring is possibly not only an important career development and psychosocial resource in prosperity, but also maybe an important tool to improve positive employee outcomes and to reduce burnout when employees are confronted with adverse working conditions. Implications of results and directions for future research are discussed.