Generational Differences in Burnout Among Hospitality Employees: A Three-Dimensional Analysis

Abstract

Occupational burnout is a structural risk of hospitality work, yet it does not affect all employees alike. The present study examines whether the three dimensions of burnout differ across generational cohorts of Romanian hospitality employees, and between employees whose formative years preceded or followed the diffusion of digital technology. A quantitative, cross-sectional and comparative design was used. Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory–General Survey in 149 employees and compared across four cohorts delimited through a recalibration adapted to the Romanian formative context, using one-way ANOVA, and between digital natives and digital immigrants, using t-tests. The results indicate a dimension-specific pattern rather than a uniform gradient. Professional inefficacy isolates the Homeland/Generation Z cohort, which scored significantly higher than each of the other three cohorts and remained distinct under every alternative cohort definition tested. Cynicism separates the two younger cohorts from the two older ones. Exhaustion separates Baby Boomers from all younger cohorts. Because generational membership is confounded with chronological age and career stage in a cross-sectional design, these differences are reported as group differences rather than as demonstrated cohort effects. The findings support measuring and reporting burnout by dimension and by cohort rather than as an aggregate score.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Sustainability, 2026 · DOI ↗