Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

7-2026

Abstract

Employees who perceive greater personal goal facilitation through work (PGFW) experience lower burnout and higher work engagement. This research examined whether self-discrepancies and emotional experiences explain these relationships across two cross-sectional studies involving a nationally representative sample of working adults (Study 1; N = 889) and a sample of public school teachers (Study 2; N = 228) in Singapore. Participants listed personal goals and rated how much their jobs facilitated these goals, alongside measures of self-discrepancy, emotions, burnout, and engagement. Across both samples, higher PGFW predicted lower burnout and greater engagement. These associations were consistently explained by lower ideal self-discrepancy and greater positive emotions, but less consistently explained by ought self-discrepancy and negative emotions. Findings suggest that organizations may reduce burnout and enhance engagement by fostering employees’ sense that their work supports attainment of their ideal self.

Keywords

burnout, emotion, engagement, goal facilitation, self-discrepancy

Discipline

Personality and Social Contexts | Social Psychology and Interaction

Research Areas

Psychology

Areas of Excellence

Sustainability

Publication

Frontiers in Psychology

Volume

17

First Page

1

Last Page

10

ISSN

1664-1078

Identifier

10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1904130

Publisher

Frontiers Media

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1904130

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