Gender differences in burnout: A meta-analysis
Section snippets
Burnout: a female experience?
Speculations that burnout occurs more frequently among women are not uncommon (Maslach et al., 2001). Such speculations may be dangerous for two reasons. First, at the workplace, work peers and superiors may perceive women as more likely to burn out than men. Research shows that individuals stereotypically assume that women are more susceptible to stress—and by extension to burnout—than men (Matlin, 2004). Even trained clinicians and physicians are not exempt from such assumptions as they are
The moderating effects of occupational gender typing on the gender-burnout link
Despite significant increases in the number of women in the workplace globally (International Labor Office, 2007) and the equal representation of the sexes in some occupations (e.g., journalism), most occupations remain gender-typed. Women are frequently employed in occupations that fit stereotypes about female gender roles (e.g., caregiving/nurturing occupations, support/administrative occupations), and men are typically employed in occupations that fit stereotypes about male gender roles
Literature search
We used two strategies for obtaining effect sizes. First, computerized databases, including PsycINFO (1872–2005), Business Source Premier, Academic Search Premier, The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Contemporary Women's Issues, ERIC, Education Full Text, MedLine, PubMed, Social Work Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts, were used to locate relevant peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. The following key words were used: burnout, emotional exhaustion,
Results
The first objective of the present meta-analysis was to assess whether there were differences between men and women in the two core components of work-related burnout: emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Results can be found in Table 1. The mean effect size for emotional exhaustion is .10 (t = 6.46, p < .01), with a 95% confidence interval of .07 to .13. The significant d-value, coupled with the tight 95% CI that excludes zero, demonstrate that the obtained effect is distinguishable from
Discussion
In the present study, we had two primary goals: (a) to determine the average effect size for gender differences in work-related burnout, and (b) to reveal the extent to which gender differences vary according to the gender typing of occupations and the degree to which labor policies are socially progressive. We pursued the first goal to test a commonly held belief—that women are more burnt-out than men. We pursued the second goal to test the explanatory accuracy of recent theoretical
Acknowledgments
We thank our research assistants James Harrison, Ellen Kleiner, Carrie Kreissl, Katie Nelson, Brittany Holmquist, and Emily Wilson for their help with this project.
References (79)
The small sample performance of four tests of the difference between pairs of meta-analytically derived effect sizes
Journal of Management
(1995)A meta-analytic review of work-family conflict and its antecedents
Journal of Vocational Behavior
(2005)- et al.
The contribution of gender-role orientation, work factors and home stressors to psychological well-being and sickness absence in male- and female-dominated occupational groups
Social Science & Medicine
(2002) - et al.
Psychological empowerment at the workplace as predictor of ill health
Personality and Individual Differences
(2005) - et al.
Sex bias in the diagnosis of personality disorders: Conceptual and methodological issues
Clinical Psychology Review
(1991) Hierarchies, jobs, and bodies: A theory of gendered organizations
- et al.
Women managers
- et al.
Re-assessing women's working lives: An introductory essay
- et al.
Work–home conflict among nurses and engineers: Mediating the impact of role stress on burnout and satisfaction at work
Journal of Organizational Behavior
(1991) - et al.
Job resources buffer the impact of job demands on burnout
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
(2005)
Using the job demands–resources model to predict burnout and performance
Human Resource Management
Core self-evaluations and job burnout: The test of Alternative models
Journal of Occupational Health Psychology
Despotism and differential reproduction: A Darwinian view of history
Men's work women's work
Across the great divide: The entry of men into women's jobs
How to conduct research on burnout: Advantages and disadvantages of a unidimensional approach in burnout research
Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Sex differences in occupational stress and work satisfaction among physicians
Stress Medicine
A loss of status and a sense of defeat: An evolutionary perspective on professional burnout
European Journal of Personality
Burnout: A perspective from social comparison theory
Men's power in organizations: “Equal opportunities” intervenes
Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences
A review and integration of research on job burnout
Academy of Management Review
The job demands–resources model of burnout
The Journal of Applied Psychology
Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation
The science and politics of comparing men and women
The American Psychologist
Through the labyrinth: The truth about how women become leaders
Gender and leadership style: A meta-analysis
Psychological Bulletin
Inferred sex differences in status as a determinant of gender stereotypes about social influence
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Dimensionality and validity of the Burnout Measure
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
Gender differences in ethical perceptions of business practices: A social role theory perspective
The Journal of Applied Psychology
The impact of age and gender on adult's perceptions of depression in children
Learning from academia: The importance of relationships in professional life
Academy of Management Journal
Sources and conflict between work and family roles
Academy of Management Review
Sick-leave due to minor psychiatric morbidity: Role of sex integration
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Culture's consequences: International differences in work-related values
Men's work, women's work? Occupational sex ratios and health
Cited by (615)
Emotional intelligence and burnout in medical students
2024, Educacion MedicaThe association between problematic internet use and burnout: A three-level meta-analysis
2024, Journal of Affective DisordersLongitudinal dynamics of psychological need satisfaction, meaning in work, and burnout
2024, Journal of Vocational BehaviorA Longitudinal Survey on Canadian Emergency Physician Burnout
2024, Annals of Emergency MedicineWorkplace learning tendencies of university librarians: A gender perspective
2024, Journal of Academic Librarianship
- 4
Note: Studies noted by an asterisk (*) were only included in the calculation of the average reliabilities for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization used to compare to the value we imputed for studies missing reliability information in the meta-analytic sample.