Burnout and Performance: What the Latest Meta-Analysis Tells Us

We’ve all heard burnout is bad for business, but how exactly does it show up in job performance? That’s the question a recent meta-analysis published in the European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology set out to answer. And the results are both confirming and clarifying.

Across 45 studies and over 18,000 participants, the research team led by Andreea Corbeanu took a deep dive into the relationship between the three classic burnout dimensions, exhaustion, depersonalization, and inefficacy, and how they relate to how well people do their jobs.

What They Found

First, let’s talk numbers. The researchers found that:

• Exhaustion was associated with a small to moderate drop in job performance (r = –.17).

• Depersonalization, feeling cynical or emotionally withdrawn from work had a similar effect (r = –.16).

• Inefficacy, or feeling like you’re not accomplishing much, showed the strongest link (r = –.23).

In short: all three dimensions of burnout are meaningfully tied to how people perform at work. But not equally, and not for everyone.

It's Not Just About What You Measure, but How

Interestingly, the study revealed that the tool used to measure burnoutt matters. For example, when using the well-known Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the link between exhaustion and performance was stronger than when using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). Why? Possibly because the MBI captures more of the emotional aspects of exhaustion, which may be especially relevant for performance.

Another important insight: the kind of job people do changes the impact. In corporate roles, inefficacy had a stronger negative link to job performance than in customer-facing roles. That makes sense—when much of your performance depends on strategic thinking and self-direction, feeling ineffective is especially disruptive.

What Didn't Make a Difference

Surprisingly, it didn’t really matter who rated the performance (self vs. supervisor) or whether the performance was in-role (official duties) or extra-role (going the extra mile), burnout had a negative impact across the board. That’s a critical point for organizations: burnout doesn’t just affect productivity on the margins, it cuts into the core.

Why It Matters

This study adds clarity to a body of research that’s sometimes been inconsistent. It confirms what many of us intuitively know from experience: burnout isn’t just about feeling bad - it actually makes us perform worse. But it also reminds us that not all burnout is the same, and that context matters. Emotional exhaustion, a sense of detachment, and loss of belief in one’s own effectiveness all chip away at how people show up at work.

And that means organizations can't afford to ignore burnout, or reduce it to a buzzword. Whether you’re in HR, leadership, or just trying to make your own work-life balance more sustainable, these findings make the case for serious, proactive strategies to protect employees’ well-being and performance.

Source: Corbeanu, Andreea & Iliescu, Dragos & Ion, Andrei & Spînu, Roxana. (2023). The link between burnout and job performance: a meta-analysis. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology. 32. 1-18. 10.1080/1359432X.2023.2209320.