Motivational Resources of Athletes and Occupational Burnout from the Perspective of Human Capital Management in Football Clubs
Purpose: The aim of this article is to determine the relationship between achievement motivation and the four dimensions of occupational burnout among senior-level footballers, and to examine whether length of playing career, number of training sessions per week, regularity of appearances in the starting line-up, experience of a serious injury and use of a sports psychologist’s services influence the severity of burnout. The results were examined from the perspective of human capital management in football clubs. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted using a diagnostic survey among 104 men playing football at senior level. A shortened version of the Achievement Motivation Inventory (LMI-K) and the LBQ Burnout Questionnaire were used. Due to deviations from normality in the distributions, Spearman’s rank correlations, the Kruskal–Wallis H test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used, with effect sizes also reported. The reliability of the LMI-K was high, whilst the three scales of the LBQ showed reduced internal consistency; therefore, the results concerning these dimensions were interpreted with caution. Findings: Higher achievement motivation was associated with a lower sense of professional ineffectiveness (rs = −0.27; p = 0.005) and disappointment (rs = −0.36; p < 0.001), but not with psychophysical exhaustion or lack of commitment to relationships. The number of training sessions per week was associated with disappointment, whilst regularity of appearances in the starting line-up was associated with psychophysical exhaustion; length of playing career was not associated with any dimension of burnout. Players who had suffered a serious injury exhibited a greater sense of professional ineffectiveness and disappointment, whilst those who had sought the help of a sports psychologist exhibited lower levels of disappointment. Practical implications: In player management, from the perspective of professional burnout, priority should be given to the systematic monitoring of those who train infrequently, compete irregularly or are returning from injury. Clubs’ measures should combine clear communication of the athlete’s role within the team, a plan for returning to full training load, and access to psychological support; however, their effectiveness requires confirmation through longitudinal or intervention studies. Originality/value: The contribution of this study lies in a comprehensive analysis of achievement motivation and the current sporting and organisational conditions under which athletes operate, as factors co-occurring with selected dimensions of burnout. The results show that, in the study group, the current frequency of training sessions, the regularity of matches and experience of injury were more significant than career length, which reinforces a managerial approach to burnout prevention in football clubs.