Burnout/Occupational Burnout Scale (MBI-General Survey, MBI-GS) – Chinese Version

Description

Job burnout, abbreviated as burnout, also known as occupational burnout, work exhaustion, or professional burnout, refers to a long-term response developed by individuals who cannot effectively cope with the continuous pressures of work. It includes three dimensions: emotional exhaustion (情绪衰竭), cynicism (玩世不恭), and reduced personal accomplishment (成就感低落). Emotional exhaustion refers to individuals feeling that all their emotional resources have been depleted, leading to feelings of extreme fatigue and stress, a lack of motivation and enthusiasm for work, feelings of frustration and tension, and even fear of going to work. Cynicism manifests as individuals maintaining a deliberate distance from work and their colleagues, becoming less enthusiastic and invested, displaying passivity in completing their tasks, questioning the significance of their work, and showing a lack of concern for their contributions. Reduced personal accomplishment indicates that individuals may hold negative assessments of themselves, doubting their competency in their job or their contributions to society, organizations, or others.

A significant proportion of office workers worldwide experience varying degrees of job burnout, making it a top enemy for many professionals. Research indicates that job burnout profoundly impacts individuals’ physical and mental health, their work performance, and the overall effectiveness of the organizations they belong to. As job burnout intensifies, individuals may experience higher anxiety and depression levels and potentially face physiological issues, including chronic fatigue, headaches, and high blood pressure. The greater the degree of job burnout, the lower the work efficiency, the poorer the performance, and the higher the absenteeism and turnover rates. Consequently, the negative impacts of job burnout on individuals naturally affect their organizations’ performance as well.

Given its pervasive negative influence, the business world is beginning to focus on addressing this issue, and scholars have also turned their attention to researching it. Early studies on job burnout tended to view it as a result of individual assessments. Consequently, two theories were proposed: one theory posits that highly idealistic and dedicated individuals tend to experience job burnout as they invest and sacrifice too much to achieve their goals; when these goals are not met, they are more prone to exhaustion or cynicism. The other theory suggests that job burnout is a response to prolonged work-related stress, indicating it should occur later in individuals’ careers and can result from excessive or insufficient workloads.

Subsequently, researchers have proposed numerous theories to explore the causes of job burnout. Below are some representative theories:

Matching-Non-Matching Model

This model, proposed by Maslach et al. (1997-2001), is based on the hypothesis that job burnout is a result of the interaction between individuals and their work contexts. Maslach and Leiter (1997) noted that the occurrence of job burnout is not solely due to work or personal factors but is a function of the degree of matching or non-matching between them. The greater the gap, the more likely burnout will occur. Their research indicated that mismatches across six areas—workload, control, rewards, work group, fairness, and values—could lead to the development and aggravation of job burnout. Workload mismatches might manifest when individuals without certain skills or interests take on specific jobs or when the workload is excessively heavy. Studies reveal a robust correlation between workload and time pressure and job burnout, especially regarding the exhaustion dimension. Control mismatches usually reflect individuals’ lack of sufficient authority over the resources necessary for their work or a lack of control over how they believe they can best accomplish their tasks, often resulting in a sense of inefficacy and diminished effectiveness. Reward mismatches involve both material and social rewards, closely linked to feelings of inefficacy. The work group aspect reflects the communal values of organizational members; a lack of social interaction with others can lead to chronic interpersonal conflicts within the work group, generating hostility and frustration while decreasing the likelihood of receiving social support. Unfairness in the workplace manifests in various forms, such as unequal workloads or rewards, deceit, and unjust recognition or promotions. Unfairness exacerbates job burnout in at least two ways: it generates emotional irritability and depletion, and it deepens individuals’ cynicism towards work.

Conservation of Resource Theory

This theory focuses on the impact of socio-cultural factors on job burnout by explaining the mechanism behind it through demands and resources. The Conservation of Resource (COR) theory posits that people aim to acquire and protect valuable resources. Job burnout arises when individuals lose these valuable resources, fail to achieve expected returns, or when their resources cannot meet their demands. The primary work requirements relate to role ambiguity, role conflict, stress events, excessive workload, and job pressure, while the key work resources include various forms of social support and opportunities for career advancement (including control, involvement in decision-making, and autonomy in work). The resources that individuals prioritize include conditions, time, abilities, energy, and other “precious resources,” either inherently valuable or capable of generating other resources. Individuals endeavor to safeguard these precious resources, acquire secondary resources, and invest resources to prevent their loss. Therefore, when substantial resources such as time, energy, and opportunities are invested into work at the expense of personal life and relationships, coupled with minimal returns, job burnout occurs.

Equity Theory

The equity theory posits that individuals evaluate their relationships with others based on an assessment of inputs and outputs. Its core premise is that people have a fundamental tendency to seek reciprocal exchange in interpersonal relationships. When individuals perceive an unequal relationship, they experience distress; a lack of reciprocity or unfairness triggers psychological dissonance. Blau (1964) argued that the equity theory in social exchange applies similarly to interpersonal relationships, where individuals in higher positions expect respect, compliance, and gratitude from those in lower positions. According to the equity principle, respect, compliance, and gratitude are exchanged for the services of power; otherwise, the relationship experiences imbalance. The equity theory serves as a general framework for social exchange and is not restricted to specific professions. Recent studies across various professionals, including teachers, nurses, and general employees, indicate a direct correlation between a lack of reciprocity and burnout. Research by Dierendonck (1996) established a curvilinear relationship between perceived unfairness and burnout, particularly related to emotional exhaustion; moreover, employees sensing injustice report more negative emotions and burnout.

Dual-Level Social Exchange Model

This model, proposed by Schaufeli (1996), asserts that deficits in social exchanges on both interpersonal and organizational levels can trigger job burnout. In alignment with equity theory, Schaufeli (1993) noted that psychological dissonance among service workers (e.g., nurses) leads to burnout, with perceived unfairness draining individual psychological resources and resulting in emotional exhaustion while undermining self-esteem. Concerning employee-organization relations, the dual-level social exchange model functions similarly to the psychological contract. The psychological contract is defined as employees’ expectations regarding exchanges with the organization, focusing on work volume, autonomy, and support from colleagues and superiors. Unmet expectations can damage the psychological contract, leading to a sense of injustice. Research by Schaufeli (1996) and Van Dierendonck (1996) has corroborated that deficits in reciprocal exchanges at the organizational level contribute to burnout.

Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)

The MBI, developed by Maslach, Jackson, and Schaufeli (1982-1996), comprises three versions: the Human Service Survey (MBI-HSS), the Educators Survey (MBI-ES), and the General Survey (MBI-GS). Li Chaoping and Shi Kan revised the MBI-GS specifically for the Chinese context. This version, based on the internationally recognized MBI-GS scale, was translated into Chinese and verified through domestic studies, obtaining adjustments from Michael Leiter, one of the main developers of MBI-GS. The resulting scale demonstrates good reliability and validity according to studies by some domestic scholars (Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the three subscales are 0.8792, 0.8452, and 0.8686, respectively).

Items in Chinese

1. 工作让我感觉身心疲惫。
2. 下班的时候我感觉精疲力竭。
3. 早晨起床不得不去面对一天的工作时，我感觉非常累。
4. 整天工作对我来说确实压力很大。
5. 工作让我有快要崩溃的感觉。
6. 自从开始干这份工作，我对工作越来越不感兴趣。
7. 我对工作不象以前那样热心了。
8. 我怀疑自己所做的工作的意义。
9. 我对自己所做的工作是否有贡献越来越不关心。
10. 我能有效地解决我工作中出现的问题。
11. 我觉得我在为单位作有用的贡献。
12. 在我看来，我擅长于自己的工作。
13. 当完成工作上的一些事情时，我感到非常高兴。
14. 我感到我完成了很多有价值的工作。
15. 我自信自己能有效地完成各项工作。

Items in English

1. My work makes me feel emotionally exhausted.
2. I feel drained at the end of the workday.
3. When I wake up in the morning and have to face a day of work, I feel very tired.
4. Working all day is really stressful for me.
5. My job makes me feel like I’m about to collapse.
6. Since I started this job, I have become less interested in my work.
7. I am no longer as enthusiastic about my work as I used to be.
8. I question the significance of my work.
9. I care less and less about whether my work contributes to others.
10. I can effectively solve problems that arise in my work.
11. I believe I am making a useful contribution to my organization.
12. In my opinion, I am good at my job.
13. When I accomplish certain tasks at work, I feel very happy.
14. I feel that I have completed many valuable tasks.
15. I am confident that I can effectively complete various tasks.

References

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王燕. 工作倦怠的跨行业调查和比较研究[D].贵州师范大学,2005.
李小媚. 基层公务员自我效能感、职业倦怠对离职倾向的影响研究[D].广西大学,2022.DOI:10.27034/d.cnki.ggxiu.2022.000331.
周秋蓉. 公务员心理资本、应对方式和工作倦怠的关系研究[D].湖南师范大学,2011.