SELF-ESTEEM AND EMPLOYEE BURNOUT AS PREDICTORS OF EMPLOYEE
TURNOVER INTENTION AMONG PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLORS
Introduction
Reported research reveals that Employee turnover is widely studied (Hom, Mitchell, Lee &
Griffeth, 2012; Iverson, 1999; Shaw, Delery, Jenkins, & Gupta, 1998). Hom and Griffeth
(1995) were able to review more than 800 studies focusing on employee turnover. Lee and
Mitchell, (1994), argued that there is no one generally accepted theory as to why people opt or
intend to leave organisations. They further stated that what is predominant is that in most cases
it is employees who decide to leave organisations, rather than organisations that dismiss
employees (Lee & Mitchell, 1994).
This thesis focused on this aspect of voluntary turnover particularly on voluntary turnover
intention among counsellors and how turnover relates to self-esteem and burnout. Self-esteem
and burnout were considered as predictor variables of employee turnover intention.
Morrell, Clarke and Wilkinson (2004), contended that there is no one generally accepted theory
explaining the turnover process as a whole; they stated that a wide range of factors have been
found useful when it comes to interpreting employee turnover, and these have been employed to
model turnover in a range of different settings (Morrell et al., 2004). A review of literature
shows evidence of some these factors to include emotional dissonance and organizational
commitment (Abraham 1999a), job satisfaction (Hom & Kinicki, 2001), labour market variables
(Kirschenbaum & Weisberg, 2002), occupational stress, psychological strain and coping
resources (Layne, Hohensil and Singh 2004), psychological contract (Morrison & Robinson,
1997), and various forms of commitment (Allen & Meyers, 1990).
Many studies have investigated self-esteem generally and as a result several definitions have
arisen (Bernichon, Cook, & Brown, 2003; Brown, Dutton, & Cook, 2001; Lightsey,
Burke, Ervin, Henderson, &. Lee, 2006; Leary, Tambor, Terdal, & Downs 1995; Trzesiewski,
Donnellan, & Robbins, 2003). Coopersmith (1967), defined self-esteem as the “evaluation that
the individual makes and customarily maintains with regard to himself/herself, it expresses
approval or disapproval and indicates the extent to which the individual values himself/herself”
(p.4-5). Brown and Dutton (1995) explained self-esteem as feelings for oneself, whether
positive or negative. Baumeister, Campbell, Kruger and Vohs (2003) asserted that self-esteem
is the evaluative component of self-knowledge. They further said that self-esteem is a
perception rather than a reality. These definitions emphasize the aspect of evaluation as a
component of self-esteem and that these evaluations can be classified as both positive and
negative.
Walz (1991) contended that counsellors’ self-esteem is a vital determinant in the counselling
relationship between client and counsellor. Butler and Constantine (2005) observed that a
counsellor’s perceptions of himself as a member of the counselling profession could affect their
competence and the client counsellor relationship.
Burnout among professionals and professions that involve interaction with people is widely
studied. Lee, Cho, Kissinger and Ogle (2010) conceptualised burnout as a combination of
multiple physical and emotional elements manifesting cognitively or within the workplace.
They further contended that this could jeopardize counsellors’ well being and treatment
efficacy. Vrendenburgh, Carlozi and Stein (1999) studied burnout among counselling
psychologists. They reported that many burnout studies concerning counsellors have focused
primarily on correlates such as characteristics, client attributes and work environment.
However, there is relatively limited research linking self-esteem and employee burnout as
predictors of employee turnover among counsellors, and there appears to be a gap in knowledge
and literature, especially in the Kenya setting. No one can challenge the fact that transition and
employee separation cause considerable distress in terms of feelings of loss and expectations.
On the other hand, according to Maslach and Jackson (1984) burnout and distress can be good
predictors of employees wanting to leave. In this regard, explaining the mechanisms underlying
how and why such employee turnover linked to self-esteem and burnout occurs is open to
question.
The study on which this thesis is based focused on professional counsellors; however, defining
the identity of professional counsellors can be challenging. Gale and Austin (2003) stated that
internationally, professional counsellors lack a sense of specific identity for two reasons. First,
counsellors receive their professional training from different institutions and accrediting bodies.
Second, counsellors are affiliated with multiple professional organizations. Thus, different
training experiences, specializations, credentialing and professional affiliations can be a
challenge to professional counsellors in an effort to promote a collective identity. The Kenyan
context reflects this diversity, with different institutions at the tertiary and university level, and
accrediting bodies in terms of associations and government agencies.
Counsellor training institutions seek accreditation from the Commission of Higher Education,
the Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association (KCPA), the Kenya Association of
Counsellor Educators and Trainers (KACET) and from the National Authority for the
Campaign against Drugs and Alcohol Abuse (NACADA). These accreditations have an impact
on the training and eventual production of graduates of the training centres and universities. In
addition, a professional counsellor has to meet practice requirements set by KCPA and
NACADA.
The target group consisted of trained and accredited counsellors, which means that the
individuals have gone through academic/professional training in counselling and obtained a
minimum qualification of a diploma in counselling or a bachelor’s degree in counselling. In
Kenya, tertiary institutions offer a one-month certificate course in basic counselling, a two-year
diploma in counselling and a two-year higher diploma in counselling. A fully trained counsellor
would therefore have undergone approximately four years of professional training. Some
Kenyan universities also offer a four-year undergraduate degree in counselling; some of the
degree titles include Bachelor of Arts in counselling, Bachelor of Arts in counselling
psychology, Bachelor of Arts in psychology (counselling specialization) and Bachelor of
Psychology (with counselling specialization). Other titles include Bachelor of Education in
counselling and Bachelor of Education in guidance and counselling.
In Kenya, it is also possible to join the counselling profession after postgraduate studies, either
by getting a postgraduate diploma or by getting a Master’s degree in counselling or psychology,
and doing a certain numbers of hours of supervised practicum.
Some Kenyan counsellors are known as “accredited members.” This refers to membership of
the Kenya Counselling and Psychological Association (KCPA). Membership of the association
was voluntary up to August 2014. At that time, KCPA had an estimated two thousand active
members. KCPA has been able to classify membership according to the level of qualification
and years of experience, and each member is allocated a status as such. There is also another
association for professional psychologists known as the Kenya Psychologist Association
(KPA). The membership is low and KPA has less coverage than KCPA.
The government of Kenya in collaboration with KCPA worked on legislation to make
membership and adherence to KCPA principles mandatory. An Act of Parliament was signed
into law in August 2014. The objective of the law is to govern the profession of psychology and
counselling. The law forms one society for psychology and counselling professionals; it creates
a board for registration and counselling, and regulates the training and practice of counselling
and psychology. Consequently, all associations for counselling and psychology were required to
merge and form the Kenya Society of Counselling and Psychology.
Wango (2015) asserted that counselling and psychological services in Kenya could be clustered
into three categories namely:
1. Counselling centres and services, this encompasses services provided to individuals,
families and groups.
2. Counselling professional development, this involves continuous professional
development programmes and mechanisms.
3. Counselling research; this involves activities towards knowledge creation in the area of
counselling and psychology (Wango 2015, p.10-11).
The impact of geography on burnout and turnover intention has received considerable reviews.
Nowrouzi et al. (2015) discussed the impact of type and location of employment in relation to
burnout. Accordingly, they observed that geography might have mitigating effects on stress and
burnout. They explained that this could be attributed to culture, health needs and healthy
behaviours. This too was considered a motivation for this study in Kenya.
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