This study explored the degree of association between employee perceptions of the work environment and burnout. Aspects of the job and organisational structures that can be influenced were tested for association with the Maslach and Jackson components of employee burnout in an attempt to understand the stress processes that lead to employees experiencing emotional exhaustion, depersonalising customers and feeling a lack of personal accomplishment. Data from a questionnaire completed by employees of large hotels in New Zealand indicate that although physical aspects of a job are associated with certain aspects of burnout, the stronger relationships are clearly with respondents’ perceptions of the workplace climate. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.