Abstract:
Job
burnout is a state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion resulting in job
dissatisfaction, lowered productivity, absenteeism and hi
gh turnover at the workplace. Student
Affairs Personnel (SAPs) in universities are required to spend considerable and intense time with
students facing psychological, social and physi
cal
problems. Given that they work continuously
in such situations, they are bound to be drained emotionally, mentally and physically. This study
examined gender differences as a factor in the experience of workplace-
burnout among
personnel working in the Student Affairs Departments in public and private universities in
Kenya
.
In this study, 79 female and 70 male
respondents
constituted the study sample. The
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used as an instrument to assess the level of burnout
differe
nces of the SAPs in terms of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced
personal accomplishment. Results indicated that there was no significant difference in the levels
of burnout among male
and female respondents. Burnout awareness and mitigat
ion should
therefore help all the SAP
s irrespective of gender. The assumption is that if one is aware of the
burnout level then he/she can adopt relevant coping mechanisms. This study recommends that
an effective burnout model be used to tackle the growi
ng phenomenon of burnout among the
SAPs in Kenyan Universities.