The Correlation Between Burnout and Personality Types in Software Developers

Abstract

This paper examines the correlations between the Five Factor Model personality traits and burnout in software developers. Several studies have measured these correlations in the past, both for general populations and within specific fields, but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to do this within the field of software development. This study aims to validate generalizations of findings in other fields while also filling the gap in the literature in relating this correlation to software developers. To do this, an online survey consisting of a miniaturized International Personality Item Pool questionnaire for measuring the Five Factor Model personality traits, and the Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure for measuring burnout, was distributed to several open source developer mailing lists, netting 47 valid responses. The results from correlating these responses indicate a strong link between neuroticism and burnout, while the correlations between each of the