Perception Differences in Burnout: A Study of Swiss-German Managers and Subordinates.

Abstract

Burnout differences between management and subordinates can affect preventative interventions chosen by management. Our study investigated if these differences in experiences of burnout (1) are dimension specific (2) correspond to differences in perceptions of the effectiveness of burnout prevention methods. Two hundred thirty nine managers and 217 subordinates completed an online survey that categorized their self-reported experiences into the three dimensions of burnout and investigated their perceptions of the effectiveness of burnout prevention techniques. Contrary to the literature, Swiss-German managers experienced greater exhaustion than subordinates. Despite this experiential difference, their perceived effectiveness of burnout prevention methods did not differ. Contextual differences explain dimension-specific differences in self-reported experiences of burnout at different hierarchal levels; however, these did not contribute to leader distance or perception gap either due to foundational or context-specific factors.