Gender variation during the occurrence of occupational burnout among health workers in Teaching Hospitals

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate gender difference in the experience of burnout among four groups
of health workers in Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti. One hundred and forty health
workers were selected through purposive sampling from the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital comprising of 16
pharmacists, 30 health assistants, 36 doctors and 58 nurses. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was
administered to test the level of burnout. Four hypotheses were tested using Student’s Independent t-test.
Results revealed that sex has a significant effect on burnout; female health workers are more vulnerable to
burnout than their male counterparts. Findings were discussed in the light of previous literature on gender
and burnout. Based on the findings, it was recommended that management should employ more hands in
order to reduce work overload and that they should organise seminars and social activities to help workers
loosen up