Comparison of Two Measures of Burnout

The purposes of the study were to determine the correlations between scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Tedium Measure and to correlate these measures with job satisfaction and health problems. These relationships might suggest which one of these two leading measures of burnout has the greatest utility in future research. 78 direct service workers in mental health and mental retardation settings participated. Tedium correlated significantly with the six burnout subscales. It also correlated significantly with job satisfaction and health problems. Only the emotional exhaustion intensity sub-scale of the Maslach inventory correlated significantly with job satisfaction and health problems. The Tedium Measure is an economical instrument for measuring burnout and has significant correlations with criterion variables. The Maslach scales may be more useful in investigating patterns as well as stages of burnout and in situations involving interactions with moderator variables.