Distinct models of burnout and commitment among men and women in the military

A study of 473 members of the Canadian Forces (232 men and 241 women) found considerable differences between men and women in levels of burnout, organizational commitment, and psychosomatic symptoms. Work environments into which women had been recently introduced were considered by both men and women to be impoverished in terms of support systems. Women found these environments to provide fewer coping resources. The results supported a prediction that supportive collegial relationships were of greater salience to women than to men, and that women were more concerned with issues of powerlessness when confronting organizational problems. The use of a multi-group LISREL analysis permitted a more extensive investigation of similarities and differences in the way men and women experience the military as a workplace. Implications for the development of a comprehensive model of occupational stress are discussed.