Masking and cancelation effects of HEXACO domains and facets in relation to work- and study-related burnout

Prior research has shown substantial relations between personality traits and burnout. However, this research has mainly focused on the relations with Big Five personality domains and therefore little is known regarding the relations with the HEXACO personality framework that includes a different conceptualization of affective traits (e.g., emotionality). Moreover, even less is known about the relations between the various burnout scales and personality facets that are subsumed under the six main personality domains. Specifically, such personality facets may differ in their relations with burnout subscales and therefore mask or even cancel each other out, resulting in lower or close to zero correlations at the domain level. Therefore, the current project investigated the masking and cancelation effects of the HEXACO facets and domains in relation to study-related burnout (Study 1, N = 151) and work-related burnout (Study 2, N = 796). The results show relatively consistent masking and cancelation effects of the anxiety facet of emotionality, the diligence facet of conscientiousness, and the social self-esteem and liveliness facets of extraversion in their correlations to the various burnout scales. Overall, the findings call for more consideration of specific personality facets in better understanding the relations between personality and burnout.