Motivational determinants of professional burnout among university teachers

<jats:p>&lt;p style="text-align: justify;"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Context and Relevance.&lt;/strong&gt; Over the past two decades, the Russian higher education system has been undergoing constant reform. The professional activities of modern teachers have become more complex due to an increased workload, multitasking requirements from management, the need to make decisions under frequent time pressure, and increased responsibility for the quality of work. A study of the determinants of professional burnout among university teachers will allow for a comprehensive analysis of the interrelationships between key factors directly affecting work performance, identify significant causes of burnout, and assess levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and the reduction of personal values. &lt;strong&gt;Hypothesis.&lt;/strong&gt; An optimal motivational complex combined with a high level of meaningfulness in life reduces the risk of professional burnout. &lt;strong&gt;Methods and materials.&lt;/strong&gt; Methods: K. Maslach and S. Jackson's Burnout Questionnaire adapted by N.E. Vodopyanova, the SJO test adapted by D.A. Leontiev, and K. Zamfir's Professional Motivation Questionnaire adapted by A.A. Rean. Mathematical statistical methods: correlation and variance analysis, Student's t-test, and the Mann-Whitney U-test. The study involved 59 respondents aged 25&amp;mdash;70. All respondents are university professors in Moscow. 72.9% were women and 27.1% were men. &lt;strong&gt;Results.&lt;/strong&gt; Fifty-four percent of respondents reported high or very high levels of emotional exhaustion, while 72.9% of teachers had high or very high levels of depersonalization. However, the majority of them maintained a low level of diminished personal achievement (55.9%). Statistically significant differences were found between groups with optimal and non-optimal types of motivational personality complex (MPC) and high levels of overall meaning in life across all professional burnout scales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal achievement. The study confirms a link between burnout indicators, life purpose orientations, and motivation, specifically an inverse relationship between burnout, meaning in life, and intrinsic motivation. &lt;strong&gt;Conclusions.&lt;/strong&gt; Preventing professional burnout among university teachers requires a comprehensive approach, including improving working conditions, creating a supportive corporate culture, and ensuring access to professional development programs and psychological support.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>