Burned out on the road: Burnout’s impact on job satisfaction among road warriors

Abstract This study examines relationships between the dimensions of burnout and aspects of job satisfaction among road warrior salespeople. Considering the heavy costs associated with replacing these high value salespeople, greater understanding of burnout and job satisfaction among road warrior salespeople is important for both researchers and practitioners alike. The study first examines travel and hotel nights to refine the road warrior definition for salespeople. Next, the study investigates relationships between the burnout dimensions (personal accomplishment, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion) and four job satisfaction dimensions (policy, pay, supervision, and customer). Findings indicate that emotional exhaustion directly affects satisfaction with policy, thus highlighting the importance and impact of emotional exhaustion on the initial dimension of the job satisfaction model. Then, indirect relationships between burnout dimensions (personal accomplishment and depersonalization) and job satisfaction are examined. Fourth, the study further examines the importance of satisfaction with policy in relation to three of the job satisfaction dimensions (pay, supervision, and customers).