Background and purpose: Sports and physical activity, as important factors in the leisure time of retired people, play a crucial role in maintaining their physical and mental health, which, as a result, can lead to improved working conditions. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of leisure time, with an emphasis on physical activity, on job burnout and intention to leave among retired professors who have returned to work at universities in the central province.
Materials and methods: This research is practical in terms of its purpose and causal in terms of its nature and method. The statistical population of this research consists of 320 people, and the sample size, according to Cochran's formula, is 174 retired professors who were invited to work in the universities of the Central Province. The survey method and questionnaire tool have been used to collect research data. The Godin and Shephard questionnaire for leisure time physical activity, the Rais and Xantanpoulos questionnaire for job burnout, and the Sishore questionnaire for intention to leave the job were used. he validity of these questionnaires was approved by university professors. The reliability of the questionnaires was also confirmed, as the Cronbach's alpha value for each variable was above 0.7.
Results: The research findings indicate that leisure time physical activity has a negative effect on job burnout. job burnout has a positive effect on the intention to leave the job and leisure time physical activity has a negative effect on the intention to leave the job through job burnout.
Conclusion: Universities should establish a program to reduce age-related burnout by encouraging retired professors to participate in leisure activities, physical activities, and sports. This will make them less likely to consider leaving their jobs and universities, which will allow these experienced professors to continue contributing to the advancement of science and the education of students.