Time Management and Burnout among Female University Students: Exploring the Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

With the increasing academic workload and poor time management, burnout has become a common psychological problem among university students. This study aimed to explore the link between time management and burnout, while also assessing self-efficacy’s mediating effect among female university students. The research design employed a quantitative correlational method. The present study, therefore, was involved with Banasthali Vidyapith where a total of N = 114 female students participated. They were collected using the Time Management Questionnaire (TMQ; Britton and Tesser, 1991), OLBI-S (the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory – Student Version; Evangelia Demerouti, Arnold B. Bakker, Friedhelm Nachreiner and Wilmar B. Schwarzer, 2001) and the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE; Ralf Schwarzer & Matthias Jerusalem, 1995). Descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation, and regression analysis was done while mediation analysis in SPSS was conducted using a regression-based mediation approach. Results indicated that there was a significant, negative correlation between time management and burnout (r = -. 199, p =. 034). That means students who managed their time better experienced decreased burnout levels. Moreover, time management was positively associated with self-efficacy (r =. 251, p =. 007), and self-efficacy was negatively associated with emotional exhaustion (r = −. 189, p =. 044). The regression analysis showed that time management is a significant predictor of burnout in female college students. Self-efficacy played significant mediation between time management and burnout in the mediation analysis. it shows us that effective time management and stronger beliefs of self-efficacy are beneficial in alleviating burnout among university students. The study stresses the importance of colleges and counselors working with students on time management skills and instilling self-efficacy among students to help their overall psychological health, as well as academic adjustment.