“Boring, introverted, number-crunchers.” When asked to describe an accountant, many people might say similar things. While some accountants may fit the stereotypical idea of doing mind-numbing office work, they are essential to every business and necessary to the workforce. The long hours and high expectations make accountants especially susceptible to workplace problems, such as high levels of stress and job dissatisfaction. This is especially clear during tax season when normal workday hours are increased from eight to twelve due to the increased workload. However, the untrue stereotype of a dull accountant is rooted in a prevalent issue within the accounting field: burnout. This blog discusses the causes of burnout from a managerial and accounting perspective, additional complications and stressors rooted in gender diversity, and steps a manager can take to mitigate the negative effects of burnout.

Burnout is common in many different industries, but accountants specifically are more affected by burnout for a variety of reasons. Repetitive and routine tasks are very common during tax season, for example, when documents must be completed and filed for clients, both individuals and corporations. This can lead to high turnover rates among accounting firms or departments, which are not uncommon, as working more hours especially during busy seasons, can directly lead to burnout. Increased hours lead to higher levels of burnout, which can in turn lead to higher rates of turnover among accountants (Haddad, 2017). New opportunities and job dissatisfaction can contribute to accountant turnover, as written in the push-pull variable, described by Jankowksi (2016). This explains that employees are pulled to jobs by new opportunities, and pushed away from current jobs by burnout or discontent.

The effects of burnout among accountants can start early, even as students, as shown in an article written by Mansor et al. (2020). The data from this study showed that stress has a large influence on harming academic performance. Highly-stressed accounting students can also show similar problems to professional accountants, who lack motivation and perform below their best with high levels of stress and burnout (Mansor et al., 2020). Distressed professional accountants performing below their best can return to efficiency with assistance from leadership in their companies. 

One of the key aspects of the managerial position is the ability to keep teams engaged in their work. Unfortunately, burnout is a major obstacle that typically decreases productivity. In all jobs, there are many factors that cause stress and dissatisfaction, which can lead to burnout in employees. Many people who suffer from workplace burnout may find themselves struggling to stay focused and frequently make mistakes. According to Utami and Supriyadi (2013), burnout sharply increases inefficiency and turnover intention, while lowering productivity. While burnout is a major problem for individual workers through a culmination of many factors including stress and anxiety, it also causes many problems for the industry as a whole. In a study done by Jankowski (2016), the average voluntary turnover rate across all industries is 11%, compared to 13.3% in the banking and finance industry. The above-average turnover rate is a concerning figure as it signals underlying problems such as job dissatisfaction. A high turnover rate can increase expenses as the company hires and trains new employees, as well as leaving an increased workload for retained associates until a replacement is hired.  Burnout can affect any of these associates but how it manifests can vary by gender. 

The accounting profession has long since been known as a male-dominated career. Over time, gender diversity in accounting has become more common, but despite this equality, research has found that burnout can affect genders differently. A survey conducted by Guthrie and Jones in 2012 had 1,681 participants, half male and half female. This survey uses three dimensions of burnout to understand the varied effects of burnout on females and males. These dimensions are depersonalization, emotional exhaustion, and reduced personal accomplishment. Surveys found that both genders had similar levels of experience with emotional exhaustion, but men reported a higher degree of depersonalization and women reported a higher degree of reduced personal accomplishment. Women had the strongest connection between emotional exhaustion and turnover intention, while men had the strongest connection between emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction (Guthrie, 2012). It is important to understand how managers can reduce the effects that dampen their employees.

Though the relationship between accountant job burnout and exhaustion, lower levels of job satisfaction, higher turnover rates have been proven in multiple studies (Utami, 2013), there are means of reduction that can be implemented by managers to mitigate burnout. Several managerial strategies include the implementation of training and support programs to monitor employee satisfaction (Haddad, 2014). These programs and resources are essential to employee’s understanding of their own stress reactions, as well as providing employees with professional counseling and intervention in extreme cases. Understanding these reactions allow accountants to control their reactions to stress, and decrease cynicism (Haddad, 2014). 

Understanding one’s own stress reactions lead to another effective method of reducing burnout in accounting firms: the development of training management in collaborative conflict management, and devaluing dominating conflict style (Cooper et al., 2019). This study determined that the dominant conflict management style, where there is a high level of concern for oneself, and less concern for others (Aritzeta et al., 2005), increases role conflict in accountants, leading to job burnout. According to the same 2019 Cooper et al. study, switching from a dominating conflict management style to a collaborative management style can decrease role conflict, consequently decreasing burnout. Another managerial effort that can be made to decrease burnout in accountants is in managing the environment and tasks assigned to workers, specifically by optimizing job demands and increasing job resources such as performance feedback (Bakker, 2014). Clarifying job demands is important in decreasing role ambiguity, a common antecedent to career burnout (Cooper, 2019). These methods can increase job satisfaction and engagement, reducing burnout.

With turnover intention as such a common consequence of job burnout (Utami, 2013), managers must manage to mitigate this. One of the most studied and effective methods for retaining high employee retention rates is to emphasize employee retention as a primary company goal, and create a positive workplace culture that makes employees excited to stay with an organization (Jankowski, 2016). To retain women in the workforce, Taneja et al. (2012) suggest developing organization-wide female mentoring and sponsorship programs, as well as placing female employees in positions with opportunities for advancement. Smaller practices such as using social media to promote female leaders are also effective (Taneja et al., 2012).

In conclusion, burnout is common in careers around the world, especially accounting. Burnout leads to many problems from increased turnover to decreased efficiency, with different manifestations by gender. One role of managers is to reduce these factors where possible, using methods including altering management styles to emphasize employee comfort, training employees in stress management, and monitoring employee job satisfaction. Though burnout is a prevalent issue, it is not unavoidable. With a focus on satisfaction in accounting firms, burnout can become an issue of the past.

Written by: Zoie Breeding, Marcus Hong, Rachel Curtiss, Blaine Clary

All authors contributed equally.