Network analysis of job burnout, job performance, and affect among part-time university faculty: educational...

Job burnout poses a significant challenge to the sustainability of higher education, particularly by undermining teaching quality and job performance through emotional depletion. Despite evidence linking burnout, affect, and performance, the complex interplay among these factors remains underexplored, especially among part-time university faculty. This cross-sectional study employed network analysis to examine the interrelations among burnout dimensions, affective states, and job performance outcomes, with a particular focus on gender differences.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted between March and August 2024, involving 1,020 part-time faculty members at Xinjiang Normal University. Participants completed validated instruments assessing job burnout (MBI-GS), job performance (JPS), and affect (PANAS). Network analysis was performed using the R package qgraph, with model selection based on LASSO regularization and EBIC. To capture potential gender-specific mechanisms, separate networks were estimated for male and female participants, and bridge expected influence indices were calculated to identify central and cross-domain nodes.

The final networks revealed 21 edges, of which 13 were non-zero (7 positive, 6 negative). Task performance emerged as the most influential bridge node in both genders, underscoring its central role in linking affective states with burnout and performance. However, gender-specific differences were observed: in the male network, depersonalization exerted the strongest negative bridging effect, whereas in the female network, negative affect was the most prominent vulnerability node. These differences suggest distinct pathways through which burnout and affect shape performance across genders.

This study demonstrates that the burnout-affect-performance nexus is both complex and gender-specific among part-time university faculty. Task performance acts as a central protective resource across groups, while depersonalization in men and negative affect in women represent critical vulnerabilities. By applying cross-sectional network analysis, the study identifies gender-sensitive leverage points that can inform educational policy and teaching practice interventions aimed at promoting faculty well-being and sustaining teaching quality in higher education.