n well documented that burnout is strongly correlated with turnover (Feldman & Arnold, 1989). In another study supportive of the relationship between job autonomy and turnover, Oktay (1992) examined burnout among hospital social workers working with AIDS patients. Subjects in the study were 128 hospital AIDS social workers who completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a questionnaire examining the rates of burnout and other factors that correlate with burnout, including characteristics of the workers, characteristics of the setting and job, the nature of AIDS work, and level of social support.
Subjects appeared more burned out than other social workers on two of the Maslach Burnout Inventory scales (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) and significantly less burned out on the third scale (personal accomplishment). According to Oktay (1992), three variables were consistently identified as being the best predictors of burnout: belonging to a support group, age, and level of employee autonomy. Regarding employee autonomy, it was found that moderate
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