A meta-analysis of the relationship between age or years of experience and employee burnout

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between age or years of experience and employee burnout by performing a meta-analysis on research studies that present findings on relationships between employee burnout and age or years of experience. The problem has practical significance in that the appropriateness of approaches to addressing employee burnout may depend on whether age or years of experience is a factor related to burnout. The researcher identified criteria for inclusion of studies in the meta-analysis and performed a literature search on burnout and employee age and burnout and years of experience. Studies included in the meta-analysis were coded by study characteristics, including measurement of burnout and subject characteristics and study condition characteristics. Using statistical software the researcher performed meta-analyses on the data, including searches for moderators. Results indicated that there was a small negative correlation between employee age and emotional exhaustion, one of the components of burnout, at least for employees in some fields in the United States, and possibly a small negative correlation between years of experience in a field and emotional exhaustion. The researcher recommended research in longitudinal studies and research using nonlinear tests for correlations.