Abstract:
The increasing demand for procurement professionals to perform well even when
the odds are against them breeds workplace burnout which is a feeling of
dissatisfaction, cynicism and disinterestedness in their jobs. This paper analyses
causes of burnout amongst procurement professionals and explain sits effect on
procurement performance. The study on which the paper is based adopted a
descripto-explanatory design to explain the causes of burnout and its effect on
procurement performance. Expert sampling was used to draw a sample of 156
professionals, but the actual respondents from whom the data were analysed
were 109 professionals. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire that
was sent to procurement professionals who were selected using the expert
sampling method. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and ordinal
logistic regression (OLR) analysis. The findings of this study indicated that there
was a statistically significant association between professional burnout and
procurement performance (p = 0.000), and turnover intentions (p = 0.000).
Further, the study used ordinal logistic regression (OLR) to establish the
influence of burnout on procurement performance. The findings show that
workplace tensions (p = 0.030), workplace recognition (p = 0.002) and
individual factors (p = 0.042) were statistically significant causes of professional
burnout affecting procurement performance. The study concludes that
professional burnout has the potential of affecting procurement performance by
neglecting governance tools and failing to achieve value for money. The study
recommends that, to maintain and improve procurement performance, it is
crucial that management implement workplace stress management interventions
and establish robust workplace social support systems.
