The Relationships among Intrinsic Motivation, Work Engagement, and Job Burnout among Female Beauty Professionals

This study examined the relationships among intrinsic motivation, work engagement, and job burnout among female beauty professionals, who account for the large majority of the Korean beauty service workforce. Data from 233 respondents were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 27.0. Intrinsic motivation comprised autonomy and competence, work engagement comprised dedication and absorption, and job burnout comprised reduced personal accomplishment and depersonalization. Autonomy and competence both predicted dedication, whereas only competence predicted absorption. Autonomy and dedication reduced both dimensions of burnout, while competence and absorption were associated with higher burnout; since neither showed a significant bivariate correlation with burnout, these coefficients are interpreted as suppression effects that emerge once autonomy and dedication are controlled. These findings indicate that intrinsic motivation does not function as a uniformly protective resource. Discretion over one’s work and a sense of meaning buffer burnout, whereas competence and sustained absorption may impose psychological costs unless workload and recovery time are managed. Beauty service organizations therefore need to expand autonomy and support competency development while regulating workload at the same time. Given the limited explanatory power of the burnout models, future research should incorporate job demands and organizational resources.