Job burnout among Chinese university counselors: a meta-analysis study

To study the current state of the three dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment among Chinese university counselor(s), and to determine whether there are differences based on different conditions such as measurement instruments, regions, and publication years.

We comprehensively searched PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and VIP from 2000 to March 2026. We included cross-sectional studies that assessed job burnout among Chinese university counselors with the Modified Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) or its validated English and simplified Chinese versions, all built on the original three dimensions of the MBI. In total, 19 studies involving 3,248 participants met our inclusion criteria. Because the studies used Likert scales ranging from 4 to 7 points, we calculated standardized mean differences (SMDs) using the midpoint of each scale for direct comparison. We performed a random-effects meta-analysis in Stata 18.0 and used subgroup analyses together with meta-regression to explore sources of heterogeneity.

The pooled SMDs indicated that Chinese university counselors exhibited the lowest levels of depersonalization with a large effect size (SMD = -1.30), alongside moderate levels of emotional exhaustion (SMD = -0.59) and reduced personal accomplishment (SMD = -0.55). All three dimensions were significantly below the theoretical scale midpoints (all p < 0.01). No significant differences were found between the two MBI versions (MBI-ES vs. MBI-GS) or between the Eastern and Central-Western regions. Meta-regression indicated that publication year was significantly associated with increased emotional exhaustion (β = 0.154, p = 0.048) and depersonalization (β = 0.15, p = 0.019), showing an increasing trend over time.

Chinese university counselors generally maintain relatively low levels of depersonalization, which represents the most favorable profile among the three burnout dimensions. However, emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment remain moderate concerns that require attention. To effectively address these issues, universities need to prioritize faculty well-being, optimize workload distribution, and gradually improve the construction of vocational support systems.