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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT) can be used to predict the development of burnout among young employees. Employees between 20 and 35 years old with a maximum work experience of five years completed an online survey (N=97). The main assumption of this research is that a high amount of self-discrepancy arises in result of career uncertainty and feelings of incompetence. These feelings are linked to the labor market becoming more dynamic caused by trends as ‘boundary less careers’ and the disappearance of ‘life-time employment’. The results provided empirical support for the relation between the Self-Discrepancy Theory and developing burnout. A stronger relation was found between self-discrepancy based on the actual and ought self and developing burnout rather than between self-discrepancy based on the actual and ideal self and developing burnout. This difference can be explained due to the fact that young employees seem to attach greater value to the opinion of their supervisor rather than their own opinion. It is important to focus not only on the employee’s personal characteristics, but also on their working environment to bring down the prevalence of burnout among young employees.