An investigation into EFL instructors' intention to leave and burnout: Exploring the mediating role of job satisfaction

The purpose of this study is twofold. Firstly, to investigate if there are significant relationships between burnout, intention to leave, and job satisfaction among EFL instructors. Secondly, to examine whether job satisfaction mediates the potential relationship between intention to leave and burnout. To this end, 120 EFL instructors selected from 10 branches of Islamic Azad universities in Fras Province, Iran based on convenience cluster sampling completed three instruments, i.e. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), Intention to Leave Questionnaire, and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). To explore the relationship between burnout and intention to leave among EFL instructors, the Pearson Correlation coefficient was run. Moreover, to examine the mediating role of job satisfaction, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed using the Amos 21. Our results revealed that there was a moderate relationship between burnout and intention to leave. Further, findings demonstrated that job satisfaction did not mediate or predict this relationship meaning that the instructors' intention to leave affected their level of burnout and their level of job satisfaction did not matter. The implications of the findings are also addressed.