Midlife crisis and engagement: the roles of self-efficacy, burnout and rotation

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of midlife crises on work engagement (WE) among resort dealers, focusing on the roles of self-efficacy (SE), job burnout (JB) and job rotation (JR) as mediating and moderating factors. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was employed, utilizing a convenience sampling method to collect data from 319 resort dealers through self-administered questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the relationships among perceived midlife crisis (PMC), SE, JB and WE, controlling for demographic variables. Findings – The results indicate that: PMC negatively affects SE and positively influences JB. Higher SE is associated with increased WE and decreased JB. SE and JB sequentially mediate the relationship between PMC and WE. JR negatively moderates the positive effects of SE on WE but does not alleviate the negative impact of JB on WE. Research limitations/implications – The study's cross-sectional design limits causal interpretations. Future research should adopt longitudinal approaches and diversify samples across various industries to enhance generalizability. Practical implications – Organizations should implement targeted interventions, such as training programs to improve SE, and to boost employee's well-being to reduce mental exhaustion. JR may not be an effective method for increasing WE among employees experiencing a midlife crisis, rather, it could even have the opposite effect. Therefore, it should be adopted only after careful and rigorous consideration. Originality/value – This research contributes to the understanding of how midlife crises influence workplace behavior, integrating the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) within a sequential mediation framework.