An Examination of how Gender, Generational Differences and Team Setting Affect Burnout Scales

Abstract

The purpose ofthis study was to examine how gender, generational differences, and whether working in a team versus individually would affect the three subscales of burnout: emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and professional efficacy in manufacturing employees. Participants were 120 manufacturing employees from a small aerospace company located in the Midwest. Women were predicted to score higher in emotional exhaustion and professional efficacy than men; whereas men were predicted to score higher in cynicism than women. It was also predicted that GenXers, who were born between 1961-1980, and GenMe, who were born between 1981-1999, would experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion and cynicism and lower levels of professional efficacy than Baby Boomers born between 1943-1960. Lastly, it was predicted that employees who work in a team would experience higher levels of burnout in all three subscales than employees who work individually. No statistically significant differences were found between gender, generations or team setting and the burnout subscales. Since the current organization in this study had experienced growth and was doing well, it would be interesting to see how much the employee's burnout levels would change if the company were to start layoffs. Past research has shown that once companies start to downsize, employees tend to feel the pressure and experience the classic symptoms of burnout (Schaufeli & Greenglass, 2001).