Caught between ideal and reality
A study on occupational burnout among inside-system legal professionals under the rule-of-law reform in contemporary China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13020035 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xiangyang Bi (0000-0003-1572-539X, China University of Political Science and Law, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 581-613 |
| Publication date | 2017-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Chinese Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2057-150X • E-ISSN: 2057-1518 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/2057150x17736482 |
| OpenAlex | W2766049705 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
This paper analyzes job burnout of inside-system legal professionals under the rule-of-law reform in China and its possible causes. Social cognitive theory, including cognitive dissonance, expectancy theory, and social comparison theory, provides the analytic framework for this study. The conclusion reveals a relatively high level of job burnout among inside-system legal professionals in China. Further analysis indicates that the individual’s commitment to the rule of law, confidence in the legal reform, and practice of non-rule-of-law in daily work are influential factors affecting his/her job burnout levels. Importantly, the interaction coefficients between these variables are statistically significant, clearly demonstrating that the discrepancy between expectation and reality is one of the root causes of job burnout in the legal profession. The discrepancy causes cognitive dissonance and psychological imbalance. At a theoretical level, this finding opens a new way of examining a particular type of occupational burnout. It shows that under the rule-of-law reform, Chinese inside-system legal professionals exhibit cognitive dissonance between ideals and reality, which constitutes a micro-political psychological basis for organizational change as speculated by neo-institutionalists and, in turn, reveals insights that may help us to understand the legal reform process within the bureaucratic system
Bureaucracy · Cognitive dissonance · Legal profession · Political science · Politics · Rule of law · Self-justification · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Workplace Health and Well-being
A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance
Psychological capital
Cognitive dissonance and social change
Burnout and Turnover Intention Among Social Workers
Employee Burnout
Sources of social support and burnout
The Job Demands‐Resources model
The job demands-resources model of burnout.
Organizational environments
Relationship between Burnout and Performance
Coping patterns as predictors of burnout
Mental health outcomes of job stress among Chinese teachers
The role of sex and family variables in burnout
Resilience and Burnout
Staff Burn‐Out
The measurement of experienced burnout
A Theory of Social Comparison Processes
The social construction of reality
Job Burnout
The Role of Institutionalization in Cultural Persistence
On the bipolarity of positive and negative affect
Legal Pluralism
Cognitive consequences of forced compliance
Bureaucratic Structure and Personality
Institutionalized Organizations
From the specter of Mao to the spirit of the law
| Highly cited | No |
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