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The role of sex and family variables in burnout

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Abstract

Two survey studies were conducted to assess the relationship of demographic variables to the experience of job burnout. Contrary to earlier hypotheses that women are more vulnerable to this form of job stress, the results show that women do slightly better than men. However, this difference is rather small, which suggests that the sex of the employee is not a major factor in burnout. Other results show that employees who were married or who had children experienced less burnout. Job category was also an important predictor. The findings are discussed in terms of sex-role socialization, sex-typed occupations, and social support systems.

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The research described in this article was supported by a Ford Foundation grant to the Center for the Study, Education and Advancement of Women, University of California, Berkeley; and by Biomedical Sciences Support Grant 3-SO5-RR-07006-08S1.

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Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E. The role of sex and family variables in burnout. Sex Roles 12, 837–851 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287876

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