Impact of Sensory Processing Sensitivity on Job Satisfaction: Burnout as a Mediating Mechanism in Employees of Software Companies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52053/jpap.v6i4.446Keywords:
Burnout, Job Satisfaction, Employees, Mediation, Organisational Psychology, Sensitivity, Sensory Processing, Software CompaniesAbstract
The study investigated the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), burnout, and job satisfaction among employees of software companies. It was hypothesized that (a) there will be a positive relation between sensory processing sensitivity and burnout (disengagement and exhaustion) and negative relations between sensory processing sensitivity and job satisfaction, and burnout and job satisfaction; (b) sensory processing sensitivity and burnout would predict job satisfaction, and (c) burnout would mediate the relation between sensory processing sensitivity and job satisfaction. The research design employed was a cross-sectional correlational design, involving a sample of 135 employees from various software companies in Pakistan, aged between 23 and 50 years (M = 29.94, SD = 5.30), selected through a non-probability purposive sampling technique. The measures included a Socio-demographic Information Sheet, the Highly Sensitive Person Scale, the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory, and the Generic Job Satisfaction Scale. The results showed a positive correlation between sensory processing sensitivity and exhaustion subscale of burnout (r=.20, p< .05) and a negative correlation between both subscales of burnout, disengagement (r=-.27, p<.01) and exhaustion (r=-.17, p< .05), to job satisfaction. Moreover, disengagement subscale of burnout was identified as a significant predictor of job satisfaction and it also fully mediated the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and job satisfaction, whereas the exhaustion subscale did not significantly mediate the relationship between SPS and job satisfaction. The study results give insights into the psychological processes that determine the performance and well-being of software workers and the applications of organizational psychology interventions and human resource procedures.
References
Arekar, K., Jain, R., Desphande, B., & Sherin, P. (2016). Relationship between individual and structural determinants on job satisfaction–analysis of employee turnover in the Indian context. The Journal of Developing Areas, 50(6), 387–398. https://doi.org/10.1353/jda.2016.0149
Aron, E. N., & Aron, A. (1997). Sensory-processing sensitivity and its relation to introversion and emotionality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(2), 345–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.73.2.345
Aron, E. N., Aron, A., & Jagiellowicz, J. (2012). Sensory processing sensitivity: A review in the light of the evolution of biological responsivity. Personality and Social Psychology Review,16(3), 262–282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1088868311434213
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273-285. http://doi.org/ 10.1037/ocp0000056
Belsky, J., & Pluess, M. (2009). Beyond diathesis stress: Differential susceptibility to environmental influences. Psychological Bulletin, 135(6), 895-911. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0017376
Benham, G. (2006). The highly sensitive person: Stress and physical symptom reports.Personality and Individual Differences,40(7), 1433–1440. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.021
Bordarie, J., & Mourtialon, C. (2023). Study of the Relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and burnout syndrome among speech and language therapists. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(23), 7132. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20237132
Carter, K. M., Mead, B. A., Stewart, G. L., Nielsen, J. D., & Solimeo, S. L. (2018). Reviewing work team design characteristics across industries: combining Meta-Analysis and Comprehensive synthesis. Small Group Research, 50(1), 138–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046496418797431.
Chacón, A., Avargues-Navarro, M. L., Pérez-Chacón, M., & Borda-Mas, M. (2023). Occupational psychosocial risks and quality of professional life in service sector workers with sensory processing sensitivity. Behavioral Sciences, 13(6), 496. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs13060496
Ellis, B. J., & Boyce, W. T. (2008). Biological sensitivity to context. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(3), 183–187. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00571.x
Ghanbari, S., Boojari, S., Kazemi, F., Rezaei, M., & Pour, E. A. (2016). Investigating the relationship between sensory processing and job satisfaction in occupational therapists working in Shiraz city. Journal of Rehabilitation Sciences and Research, 2(3), 53–57. https://doi.org/10.30476/jrsr.2015.41076
Golonka, K., & Gulla, B. (2021). Individual differences and susceptibility to burnout syndrome: Sensory processing sensitivity and its relation to exhaustion and disengagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.751350
Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, R. G. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 250?–?79. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(76)90016-7
Halbesleben, J. R. B., & Demerouti, E. (2005). The construct validity of an alternative measure of burnout: Investigating the English translation of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory. Work & Stress, 19(3), 208–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370500340728
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. B. (1959). Motivation to Work (2nd ed.). Nashville, TN: John Wiley & Sons.
Khalid, S., Rasheed, U., Butt, W. H., Qamar, U., & Zaman, U. K. U. (2025). The price of innovation: Decoding organizational stressors and strains in the lives of software professionals. Journal of Workplace Behavioural Health, 40(4), 1308–1355. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2025.2491418
Kim, H., Kim, J., Choe, K., Kwak, Y., & Song, J. (2018). Mediating effects of workplace violence on the relationships between emotional labour and burnout among clinical nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(10), 2331–2339. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.13731
Lee, G., Shao, B., & Vinze, A. (2018). The role of ICT as a Double-Edged Sword in fostering Societal Transformations. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 19(3), 209–246. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00490
Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1, pp. 1297-1343. Chicago: RandMcNally.
Macdonald, S., & MacIntyre, P. (1997). The generic job satisfaction scale: Scale development and its correlates. Journal of Employee Assistance Quarterly, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.1300/J022v13n02_01.
Mahoney, C. B., Lea, J., Schumann, P. L., & Jillson, I. A. (2020). Turnover, burnout, and job satisfaction of certified registered nurse anaesthetists in the United States: Role of job characteristics and personality. ANNA Journal, 88(1), 39–48. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32008617
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397
Mohamed, S., Nikmat, A., Hashim, N. A., Shuib, N., & Raduan, N. J. (2020). Burnout and its relationship to psychological distress and job satisfaction among academician and non-Academician in Malaysia. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(1), 85. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v10n1p85
Payne, A., Koen, L., Niehaus, D. J., & Smit, I. (2020). Burnout and job satisfaction of nursing staff in a South African acute mental health setting. South African Journal of Psychiatry, 26. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v26i0.1454
Redfearn, R. A., Van Ittersum, K. W., & Stenmark, C. K. (2020). The impact of sensory processing sensitivity on stress and burnout in nurses. International Journal of Stress Management, 27(4), 370–379. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000158
Safari, I. (2020). A study on the relationship between burnout and job satisfaction of Iranian EFL teachers working in universities and schools. Journal on Efficiency and Responsibility in Education and Science, 13(4), 164–173. https://doi.org/10.7160/eriesj.2020.130401
Van Den Boogert, F., Spaan, P., Sizoo, B., Bouman, Y. H. A., Hoogendijk, W. J. G., & Roza, S. J. (2022). Sensory processing, perceived stress and burnout symptoms in a working population during the COVID-19 crisis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), 2043. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042043
World Health Organization (2019). 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics (Version: 04/2019). World Health Organization.
Yao, H., Wang, P., Tang, Y., Liu, Y., Liu, T., Liu, H., Chen, Y., Jiang, F., & Zhu, J. (2021). Burnout and job satisfaction of psychiatrists in China: A nationwide survey. BMC Psychiatry, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03568-6
Zhang, N., & He, X. (2022). Role stress, job autonomy, and burnout: The mediating effect of job satisfaction among social workers in China. Journal of Social Service Research, 48(3), 365–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2022.2048
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mahnoor Fatima, Faiz Younas , Shazia Qayyum

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License (https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-Commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the Journal website at (https://iprpk.com/ojs/index.php/jpap)






