The aim of our study is to explore the role of workplace factors (job characteristics, stress sources and resources) and different forms of physical activity in emotional exhaustion among academics working in higher education institutions in five Carpathian Basin countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine). As a theoretical background we used the Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) theory. For the analyses the Central and Eastern European Teachers in Higher Education (CEETHE 2023) database (N=821) was used. The target population for the questionnaire survey was academics from higher education institutions in the North Great Plain and South Transdanubian regions of Hungary, while the target population for the survey of institutions across the border in Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia was Hungarian minority institutions. Our main findings are that the most important risk factors for emotional exhaustion are workload, diversity of teaching roles, work-life conflict and bullying, while work engagement is a significant protective factor. Another important finding is that various forms of physical activity, although not directly related to emotional exhaustion, significantly reduce the negative impact of these stressors. Thus, voluntarily engaging in regular physical activity and social recreational activities has a beneficial effect on employees' mental health and workplace well-being. Placing our results in a broader context, it can be said that the regular physical activity of volunteers working in various organizations may also contribute to preventing burnout.

Keywords: burnout; workplace stress sources and resources; physical activity