Organizational Psychology

Purpose. Study of the relationship between professional identity and face concerns of employees of Russian business organizations in the context of their professional burnout. The paper considers the mediating role of face concerns in this relationship. Study design. The study was conducted in an online format using questionnaires for assessing professional burnout (MBI) by C. Maslach and M. P. Leiter, professional identity (MIPI) by L. B. Schneider and face concerns by S. A. Ting-Toomey and J. G. Oetzel. Correlation and regression analysis methods were applied, as well as mediation analysis to assess interactions between variables. The target expert sample: employees of Russian business organizations (N = 246), holding different positions, aged from 20 to 66 years, with a total work experience of at least five years. The gender composition of the sample was uneven: 170 women and 76 men. Finding. Professional identity is negatively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Self-face is positively correlated with a higher level of burnout, while mutual-face and other-face are associated with lower burnout rates. Gender differences were also found. Women more often use other-face and have more pronounced signs of emotional exhaustion. Conclusions. The data obtained emphasizes the importance of managing employee interaction strategies to preventburnout. Face concerns can have an impact on the psycho-emotional state of employees, which opensopportunities for the development of preventive programs focused on improving work communication and supporting professional identity.