Includes references (82-102 p.)

'ABSTRACT The contemporary challenges of healthcare organizations managers are how to stabilize and motivate their employees. This predominantly suggests an ever increasing complexity in the role and practice of healthcare management. For example, a heavy workload, role expansion and a lack of work place related support contributed to feelings of stress among caregivers generally. The associations between social support and burnout were explored on the dimension level among the healthcare professionals from government and private hospitals in Ogun State Nigeria. Data including background details, other demographic information, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of low personal accomplishment from 155 self-reported questionnaires from government and private hospitals collected by simple random sampling were analyzed and presented. The high degree of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were seen in the government hospital and only a high degree of lack of personal accomplishment was seen in the private hospital. The influencing factors of emotional exhaustion include neither supports from co- workers nor supervisor. The influencing factor of depersonalization includes support from co-workers and not supervisor. The influencing factors of reduced personal accomplishment include both supports from co-workers and supervisor. Perceived social support has more negatively significant effect on burnout. That is, an increase in social support generally will bring about a decrease in burnout, thereby, exhibiting its buffering effect on burnout. Keywords: social support, burnout, relationship, healthcare professionals'