Associations of organisational climate and physical activity with attitudes toward sport and burnout among school administrators

Introduction School administrators operate under substantial stress associated with heavy workloads, increasing managerial responsibilities, and organisational pressures. These conditions may be associated with higher levels of burnout. This study examined the associations among school administrators’ perceptions of organisational climate, physical activity levels, attitudes toward sport, and occupational burnout, with particular attention to their public-health relevance. Methods The study included 223 school administrators from different school types. Data were collected using the Organisational Climate Scale, International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form (IPAQ-SF), Attitudes Toward Sport Scale, and Burnout Scale. Associations among the variables were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Physical activity was operationalised as the continuous total IPAQ-SF MET-min/week score derived from walking, moderate-intensity activity, and vigorous-intensity activity. Results Positive and statistically significant associations were observed between organisational climate and attitudes toward sport and between physical activity and attitudes toward sport. Organisational climate, physical activity, and attitudes toward sport were each significantly and negatively associated with occupational burnout. In the structural model, organisational climate and physical activity accounted for 34% of the variance in attitudes toward sport, whereas organisational climate, physical activity, and attitudes toward sport jointly accounted for 32% of the variance in burnout. Bootstrap decomposition further indicated negative statistical indirect associations with burnout through attitudes toward sport for both organisational climate (βind = −0.130, bias-corrected 95% CI [−0.236, −0.081]) and physical activity (βind = −0.171, 95% CI [−0.301, −0.113]). Discussion More favourable organisational climate, higher physical activity, and more favourable attitudes toward sport were jointly associated with lower burnout among school administrators. From a public-health perspective, these findings identify organisational and individual factors that warrant further investigation in relation to workplace mental wellbeing. They do not demonstrate that modifying these factors will prevent or reduce burnout; the effectiveness of any intervention targeting them should be evaluated in future longitudinal or experimental research.