Occupational health literacy as a mediator between burnout and work engagement in teachers

Objective: Negative working conditions might affect commitment to work negatively by causing job stress and burnout. The present study aimed to determine the mediating role of occupational health literacy by uncovering the effect of teachers’ burnout levels on work engagement. Method: The study had a cross-sectional descriptive design. The data for the study were collected from 425 teachers in the Spring semester of 2024 by using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale - Short Form, Burnout Measure Short Version, Occupational Health Literacy Scale, and 17 socio-demographic questions. Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.5±7.9. Work-related burnout among teachers predicted occupational health literacy significantly (β=-0.18, p<0.001). As an outcome variable, work engagement was predicted significantly by occupational health literacy (β=-0.34, p<0.001) and Work-related burnout (β=-0.38, p<0.001). It was also found that occupational health literacy had a partial mediating role in the relationship between Work-related burnout and work engagement. Conclusion: Developing occupational health literacy comes to the fore as an important initiative in terms of reducing burnout and improving work commitment, which is important in terms of showing that occupational health literacy offers a cost-effective solution to managing risks and hazards that originate from the work environment and preventing negative outcomes.