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Job Burnout and Couple Burnout in Dual-earner Couples in the Sandwiched Generation
Social Psychology Quarterly (2011)
  • Ayala Malach-Pines, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
  • Margaret Neal, Portland State University
  • Leslie B. Hammer, Portland State University
  • Tamar Icekson, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Abstract
We use existential theory as a framework to explore the levels of and relationship between job and couple burnout reported by dual-earner couples in the “sandwich generation” (i.e., couples caring both for children and aging parents) in a sample of such couples in Israel and the United States. This comparison enables an examination of the influence of culture (which is rarely addressed in burnout research) and gender (a topic fraught with conflicting results) on both job and couple burnout in this growing yet understudied group of workers who are reaching middle age and starting to face existential issues as part of their own life cycle. Results revealed significant differences in burnout type (job burnout higher than couple burnout); gender (wives more burned out than husbands); and country (Americans more burned out than Israelis). Job related stressors and rewards as well as parent care stressors predicted job burnout, and marital stressors and rewards predicted couple burnout. In addition, there was evidence for both crossover and spillover.
Disciplines
Publication Date
December, 2011
Citation Information
Ayala Malach-Pines, Margaret Neal, Leslie B. Hammer and Tamar Icekson. "Job Burnout and Couple Burnout in Dual-earner Couples in the Sandwiched Generation" Social Psychology Quarterly Vol. 74 Iss. 4 (2011)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/margaret_neal/24/