A Quantitative Examination of the Relationship between Age, Gender, and Burnout in Public Accounting Professionals in a United States National Firm

Scholars and practitioners agree burnout is a significant problem plaguing the public accounting industry. Burnout is a condition that results from long periods of excessive strain on personal resources, and is often found in public accounting professionals due to the high stress and deadline-driven environment. As the causes for burnout are better understood, the focus has turned to why some individuals are more likely to burnout than others. Identifying who has a tendency to burnout can only help in the quest for solutions. The purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to test the theoretical framework of Maslach and Jackson (1981) by examining the relationship between gender, age, and burnout in a large, national public accounting firm in the United States. Data was collected through anonymous surveys of the client-service professionals of one large, national public accounting firm, and analysis included multiple regression models using age and gender as the independent variables, and the three dimensions of burnout as the dependent variables. Only a weak correlation was identified between age and the dimensions of burnout, while an even weaker correlation resulted between gender and the dimensions of burnout. The results of the study indicated that young, female are more likely to experience the characteristics of burnout, but the regression models were not deemed reliable for use in predicting burnout using age and gender. The data analysis indicated that additional independent variables would be needed to reliably predict the dimensions of burnout within the surveyed population.