The relationships between demographic variables and measured burnout among athletic trainers in multiple workplace settings

The purpose of this study was to examine athletic trainer burnout in multiple workplace settings. Burnout was measured in each of eight identified workplace settings. Demographic data was collected to further describe such burnout. No research to date has explored all workplace settings and a clear lack of data existed for five of eight settings. A random sample of 3200 athletic trainers who were members of the national athletic trainers association received an email requesting participation. A total of 766 useable responses were received. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used to measure burnout on three subscales: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Achievement. Scores for each subscale were calculated based on responses to the 22 questions included in the MBI. All items were rated with a sevenpoint likert scale. Additional questions gathered demographic data including: gender, age, relationship status, certification route, current employment setting, prior employment setting, education level, number of children, supervisor’s status as an athletic trainer, personal recommendation of the profession, hours worked per week, number of years with current employer, and number of years in current setting. A variety of statistical techniques were used to analyze the data, including an analysis of variance to test for differences in burnout between workplace settings. The results demonstrated that a difference exists between workplace settings. For emotional exhaustion, a difference existed between the clinical medical and professional athletics settings. For depersonalization, a difference existed between the clinical medical and administration settings and the clinical medical and clinical rehabilitation settings. No difference was observed for personal achievement. Additional statistical techniques were used to analyze the demographic variables as related to measured burnout, including: analysis of variance, independent t-test, bivariate correlation, pearson’s chi-square, and sensitivity/specificity. Numerous relationships were found to exist between the demographic variables and burnout. Example findings include: females had higher burnout than males, burnout decreased with age, and those without children exhibited more burnout than those with children. If an athletic trainer recommends the profession with or without qualifications, he or she is >90% likely not to be burned out based on an odds ratio 95% confidence interval. Keywords: Burnout; Athletic Training; Workplace Settings; Maslach Burnout Inventory; Emotional Exhaustion; Depersonalization; Personal Achievement; Stress