Hardiness and Burnout in Adult U.S. Workers

Burnout is a costly problem, and it appears to be getting worse due to COVID-related stressors. It is thus important for organizations to find better tools to prevent and mitigate worker burnout.

Conditional PROCESS path analysis was used to assess the relation of hardiness to burnout in a representative sample of U.S. workers, with sex and age as potential moderators.

Hardiness is associated with reduced burnout symptoms. Sex did not moderate this relation. A moderating effect for age was observed, with more burnout appearing in younger, less hardy workers.

Findings suggest hardiness operates similarly for men and women as a buffer against burnout, and that older workers are less vulnerable to burnout. Training programs to increase stress appraisals and coping skills used by more experienced, hardy workers may be beneficial in reducing burnout.