The relationship between judicial stress and job performance

The purpose of this dissertation study was to assess the amount of stress judges endure, to determine the specific stressors that create the stress, and to relate this to their job performance, as measured by the Job Stress Survey (JSS) and the Early Warning Signs of Burnout (EWSB). It was hypothesized that increased levels of stress and burnout would cause decreased job performance, as measured by number of ethical violations and number of sick days taken in the past year. In addition, it was hypothesized that endorsement of burnout items would correlate with endorsement of stress symptoms. The data failed to support a majority of the hypothesis. The only statistically significant finding was that increased symptoms of burnout correlated with increased symptoms of stress.