A meta-analysis of burnout with job demands, resources, and attitudes

Influence of Work-Related and Personal Characteristics on the Burnout Risk among Full- and Part-Time Teachers

Teachers are at increased risk of stress-related illnesses and burnout symptoms. Thus, a cross-sectional study involving 6109 full-time and 5905 part-time teachers at upper-level secondary schools examined the influence of presumed work-related and personal characteristics on burnout risk between January and April 2018. Burnout was recorded using the Maslach Burnout Inventory—General Survey (MBI-GS). Work-related characteristics were weekly working hours and work stress, operationalized with the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model. Overcommitment and the inability to recover were determined as personal characteristics. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed, adjusted for age and gender. Overall, 47% of the teachers reported burnout symptoms and 3% had an indication of burnout. Full-time and part-time teachers did not differ in their risk of burnout. ERI, overcommitment, and inability to recover were identified as predictors of burnout risk (explained variance: 29%), whereby the inability to recover was the strongest predictor. In contrast, weekly working hours, extent of employment, gender and age were not related to the burnout risk. ERI was found in 33%, inability to recover in 36% and overcommitment in 39% of all the teachers studied. In particular, the inability to recover should be taken into account as an early indicator of burnout.

Perfectionism and Burnout During the COVID-19 Crisis: A Two-Wave Cross-Lagged Study

The current study aims at examining the relationship between the perfectionism two-factor model (i.e., concerns and strivings) and burnout dimensions measured by using the BAT (Burnout Assessment Tool) through a longitudinal study. A two-wave cross-lagged study was conducted using path analysis in SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) of 191 workers. Results confirmed the predictive role of perfectionistic concerns on the burnout dimensions, whereas perfectionistic strivings were not significantly related, suggesting that perfectionism should be monitored by employers and clinicians to prevent employee burnout. Limitations and future research directions are envisaged.

Depressive, anxiety, and burnout symptoms on health care personnel at a month after COVID-19 outbreak in Indonesia

BACKGROUND

Health care personnel (HCP) who demonstrated close contact with Corona virus disease (COVID-19) patients might experience a higher risk of infection and psychological problems. This study aims to explore depressive, anxiety, and burnout symptoms among HCP with a higher risk for psychological trauma.

METHODS

This study was a cross-sectional study using secondary data from an online assessment, which was conducted 1 month after the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 544 respondents from 21 provinces in Indonesia were included. Data on depressive, anxiety, and burnout symptoms were transformed first using the Rasch model and then categorized. Data from HCP in the higher risk group and the lower risk group were analyzed.

RESULTS

A higher percentage of HCP experiencing depressive symptoms (22.8%), anxiety (28.1%), and burnout (26.8%) are found in the higher risk group. The chance for the higher risk group's HCP to present with moderate and severe depressive symptoms, anxiety, and burnout are: 5.28 (Confidence interval (CI): 2.01-13.89; p < 0.05), 1.36 (CI: 0.09-1.96; p >  0.05), and 3.92 (CI: 2.08-7.40; p < 0.05) times higher, respectively. The probability for patient-induced burnout is 2.13 (CI: 1.51-3.007; p < 0.05) times higher and highest among the other burn out dimensions. The depressive symptoms complained were similar between groups: loneliness, sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, and inability to initiate activities. Loneliness demonstrates the highest logit value among the symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

HCP with direct contact and responsibility to treat COVID-19 patients exhibit a higher risk to experience depressive symptoms and burnout. Communication with peers and staying in contact with family needs to be encouraged. Psychological well-being should be considered for high-risk HCP. Incentive or insurance guaranteed by the government or institution is essential as a reward and compensation during this period.

Understanding the Relationship between Situational Strength and Burnout: A Multi-Sample Analysis

Many studies have examined the effect of situational strength (clarity, consistency, constraints, and consequences) on organisational behaviour, but little has been investigated about its health effects. This study aimed to analyse the relationship between situational strength and burnout. Specifically, we examined whether situational strength characteristics may be associated with burnout, whether these characteristics are risk (or protective) factors for burnout, and whether a strong situation is related to higher levels of burnout. Examining three samples from different occupations, it was found that clarity and consistency are negatively associated with burnout, being protective factors, while constraints are positively associated with burnout, being risk factors. These results are consistent across the samples. In addition to the direct effects, interaction effects between clarity and consistency in the office employee's sample (two-way interaction), between constraints and consequences in the samples of office employees and teachers (two-way interaction), and among clarity, consistency, and constraints in the salespeople's sample (three-way interaction) were also significant, explaining from 20% to 33% of the variance of burnout. We concluded that situational strength is associated not only with behaviour but also with health. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Reducing burnout and enhancing work engagement among clinicians: The Minnesota experience

BACKGROUND

The Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) recognized the impact that burnout and disengagement had on the clinician population. A clinician task force developed a conceptual framework, followed by annual surveys and a series of interventions. Features of the job demands-resources model were used as the conceptual underpinning to this analysis.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of a clinician-driven conceptual model in understanding burnout and work engagement in the state of Minnesota.

METHODOLOGY

Four thousand nine hundred ninety clinicians from 94 MHA member hospitals/systems responded to a 2018 survey using a brief instrument adapted, in part, from previously validated measures.

RESULTS

As hypothesized, job demands were strongly related to burnout, whereas resources were most related to work engagement. Variables from the MHA model explained 40% of variability in burnout and 24% of variability in work engagement. Variables related to burnout with the highest beta weights included having sufficient time for work (-0.266), values alignment with leaders (-0.176), and teamwork efficiency (-0.123), all ps < .001. Variables most associated with engagement included values alignment (0.196), feeling appreciated (0.163), and autonomy (0.093), ps < .001.

CONCLUSION

Findings support the basic premises of the proposed conceptual model. Remediable work-life conditions, such as having sufficient time to do the job, values alignment with leadership, teamwork efficiency, feeling appreciated, and clinician autonomy, manifested the strongest associations with burnout and work engagement.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Interventions reducing job demands and strengthening resources such as values alignment, teamwork efficiency, and clinician autonomy are seen as having the greatest potential efficacy.

A Person-Centered Approach to the Job Demands-Control Model: A Multifunctioning Test of Addictive and Buffer Hypotheses to Explain Burnout

This study used a cross-sectional design and a person-centered approach in order to test the addictive and interactive strain hypotheses of Job Demands-Control Model to explain burnout. A large sample (n = 6357) of Portuguese workers (nurses, bank employees, retail traders, and contact center agents) was used. Through latent profile analysis (LPA), first latent profiles of demands and control were identified and then it was examined how these profiles differed in workplace well-being (engagement and burnout) through an ANCOVA. The four hypothesized profiles (i.e., "high-strain", "low-Strain", "passive", and "active") and one more profile denominated "moderate active", emerged from LPA analysis. The hypotheses were supported in both addictive effects and interactive effects (buffer hypothesis), suggesting that the difficulty in finding consistent support for the buffer hypothesis might be related to the use of variable-centered approaches. Moreover, this reinforces that, in organizational practice, job control is a crucial characteristic to face job demands, as job control will buffer job demands' harmful effects on workplace well-being.

Validation of the Polish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA)

This study examined the factorial structure of the Polish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA-PL) and its relation with other variables, previously shown to be antecedents or outcomes of parental burnout. The PBA-PL was administered to a total sample of 2,130 parents along with other instruments depending on the study. Factorial analyses of the PBA-PL supported both the original four-factor model of parental burnout (exhaustion related to parenting, feelings of being fed up with parenting, emotional distancing from one's children, and contrast with previous parental self) and a second-order model with a global parental burnout underlying the four first-order factors. Both subscale and global scores were reliable. Significant correlations were found between PBA-PL and neuroticism, emotional intelligence, maladaptive perfectionism, perceived social support, depressive symptoms, marital satisfaction, and life satisfaction. PBA-PL also predicted both parental neglect and parental violence beyond socio-demographic factors, depression, and job burnout.

Causes of nursing staff burnout: Exploring the effects of emotional exhaustion, work-family conflict, and supervisor support

AIM

Nursing staff burnout threatens not only nurses' health but also the safety and health of their patients. Organizations should be aware of how work-related conflict can affect this burnout. This study examined the effect of supervisor support and work-family conflict on resource loss and burnout.

METHODS

A cross-sectional method and quantitative approach were adopted. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to clinical nursing staff in two regional teaching hospitals, and 239 valid questionnaires were returned.

RESULTS

Work-family conflict had a mediating effect on the relationship between supervisor support and emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion fully mediated the relationships between depersonalization, work-family conflict, and reduced professional efficacy.

CONCLUSION

The mediating effect of emotional exhaustion in work-family conflict results from depersonalization and reduced professional efficacy, whereas work-family conflict mediated the effect of supervisor support on emotional exhaustion. The findings indicate that the medical industry should implement supervisor support strategies to reduce nursing staff work-family conflict and improve interventions for emotional exhaustion.

Motivation and Continuance Intention towards Online Instruction among Teachers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effect of Burnout and Technostress

In-service teachers have various emotional and motivational experiences that can influence their continuance intention towards online-only instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a significant stress factor for their workplace. Derived from the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Job Demands–Resources Model (JD–R), and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the present research model includes technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) self-efficacy (SE), intrinsic (IM) and extrinsic (EM) work motivation, and occupational stress (OS) (i.e., burnout and technostress which have been examined in tandem) as key dimensions to explain the better continuance intention among in-service teachers to use online-only instruction (CI). Data for the research model were collected from 980 in-service teachers during the COVID-19 outbreak between April and May 2020. Overall, the structural model explained 70% of the variance in teachers’ CI. Motivational practices were directly and indirectly linked through OS with CI. The findings showed that IM has the most directly significant effect on teachers’ CI, followed by TPK-SE, and OS as significant, but lower predictors. IM was positively associated with TPK-SE and negatively associated with EM. The results offered valuable insights into how motivation constructs were related to OS and to a better understanding online instruction in an unstable work context, in order to support teachers in coping during working remotely.

Positive and negative work reflection, engagement and exhaustion in dual-earner couples: Exploring living with children and work-linkage as moderators

Many employees think about their work during off-job time. Scholars have suggested that whether work-related thoughts during off-job time have detrimental or beneficial effects on employees’ well-being and performance depends on the nature of these thoughts. In this study with dual-earner couples we examined whether employees’ positive and negative work reflection during off-job time are associated with their own and with their partners’ work engagement and exhaustion. Furthermore, we investigated whether (a) living with children and (b) being work-linked (i.e. working in the same organisation and/or working in the same profession) moderated these relations. Both partners of 130 German heterosexual dual-earner couples responded to online questionnaires. We estimated multilevel analyses using the actor–partner interdependence model to analyse our dyadic data. We found positive associations between employees’ positive work reflection and both their own and their partners’ work engagement. Employees’ positive work reflection was also associated with their decreased exhaustion. Employees’ negative work reflection was negatively associated with their own work engagement and positively associated with their own exhaustion but unrelated to their partners’ outcomes. Moderator analyses revealed that living with children weakened the link between employees’ positive work reflection and their own work engagement and strengthened the link between their negative work reflection and exhaustion. The presence of couples’ work-linkage did not moderate any of these relations. This study builds on previous research by showing that employees’ positive work-related thinking is not only beneficial to themselves but also to their partners. Furthermore, the results suggest that living with children constitutes an additional demand that reduces the motivational effects of positive work reflection and amplifies the detrimental effects of employees’ negative work reflection.

The Quality of Work Index and the Quality of Employment Index: A Multidimensional Approach of Job Quality and Its Links to Well-Being at Work

(1) Background: Job quality is a multidimensional and elusive concept that is back in vogue among social scientists and policymaker. The current study proposes a new job quality approach that is compared with the European Working Conditions Survey framework and structured with the help of the Job Demands-Resources model. Two new measures of job quality, the Quality of Work Index (QoW) and the Quality of Employment Index (QoE) are developed and validated in three different languages (German, French, Luxembourgish). The QoW is composed of 43 items, focusing on four areas of work—work intensity, job design, social conditions, and physical conditions (subdivided in eleven components)—which are particularly important for employees’ well-being. The QoE is composed of 13 items that cover training opportunities, career advancement, job security, employability, work life conflict, and income satisfaction. (2) Methods: Data were collected via computer-assisted telephone interviews in a representative sample of 1522 employees working in Luxembourg (aged 17–67 years; 57.2% male). (3) Results: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the proposed factors structure and scalar measurement invariance for the three different language versions. Internal consistencies were satisfactory for all subscales (Cronbach’s α between 0.70 and 0.87). Correlations and hierarchical regression analyses with different psychological health measures (i.e., burnout, general well-being, psychosomatic complaints, work satisfaction, vigor) and subjective work performance confirmed the construct validity of the new instruments. (4) Conclusions: The QoW and the QoE are globally and on the level of the sub-categories effective tools to measure job quality, which could be used to compare job quality between organizations and different countries. Furthermore, the current study confirms associations between the different components of the QoW and QoE and employees’ health.

Psychological Capital, Workload, and Burnout: What’s New? The Impact of Personal Accomplishment to Promote Sustainable Working Conditions

Research on burnout has traditionally focused on job demands, with less attention paid to protective factors. From the emerging and innovative area of psychology of sustainability and sustainable development, this study aimed to analyze the relationship that job demands (workload), and personal resources (psychological capital) have with burnout. The sample includes 517 workers from various professional sectors. Results of the structural equation analysis show that (1) psychological capital and workload are related to burnout, and (2) personal accomplishment is more a personal resource than burnout dimension. The results confirm the role of psychological capital as a protective factor for burnout. Finally, the importance of examining the relationship between the components of psychological capital, personal accomplishment, and positive emotions is pointed out due to the importance of organizations promoting the development of psychological strengths and resources to promote well-being and sustainable working conditions.

Using AI to predict service agent stress from emotion patterns in service interactions

Purpose

A vast body of literature has documented the negative consequences of stress on employee performance and well-being. These deleterious effects are particularly pronounced for service agents who need to constantly endure and manage customer emotions. The purpose of this paper is to introduce and describe a deep learning model to predict in real-time service agent stress from emotion patterns in voice-to-voice service interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

A deep learning model was developed to identify emotion patterns in call center interactions based on 363 recorded service interactions, subdivided in 27,889 manually expert-labeled three-second audio snippets. In a second step, the deep learning model was deployed in a call center for a period of one month to be further trained by the data collected from 40 service agents in another 4,672 service interactions.

Findings

The deep learning emotion classifier reached a balanced accuracy of 68% in predicting discrete emotions in service interactions. Integrating this model in a binary classification model, it was able to predict service agent stress with a balanced accuracy of 80%.

Practical implications

Service managers can benefit from employing the deep learning model to continuously and unobtrusively monitor the stress level of their service agents with numerous practical applications, including real-time early warning systems for service agents, customized training and automatically linking stress to customer-related outcomes.

Originality/value

The present study is the first to document an artificial intelligence (AI)-based model that is able to identify emotions in natural (i.e. nonstaged) interactions. It is further a pioneer in developing a smart emotion-based stress measure for service agents. Finally, the study contributes to the literature on the role of emotions in service interactions and employee stress.

Job Demands-Resources theory and self-regulation: new explanations and remedies for job burnout

Background: High job demands and low job resources may cause job strain and eventually result in burnout. However, previous research has generally ignored the roles of time and self-regulation. Objectives: This theoretical article synthesizes the literature to propose a multilevel model that delineates how acute job strain translates into enduring and severe job burnout. Methods: We integrate self-regulation perspectives in job demands-resources (JD-R) theory to propose that short-term job strain and eventually enduring burnout is the result of consistently high job demands and low job resources - combined with failed self-regulation. Results: The model shows that when employees are confronted with increased job strain, they are more likely to use maladaptive self-regulation strategies, such as coping inflexibility and self-undermining. In addition, when job strain increases, employees are less likely to use adaptive self-regulation strategies, such as job stress recovery and job crafting. It follows that when the job becomes more stressful, stable resources become more important. Organizational resources such as human resource practices and healthy leadership may help employees to regulate their short-term fatigue and avoid enduring burnout. Furthermore, key personal resources like emotional intelligence and proactive personality may help employees to recognize and regulate their fatigue in an effective way. Conclusion: The proposed model of burnout expands JD-R theory and offers important practical implications for the prevention and reduction of burnout.

Changing to improve? Organizational change and change-oriented leadership in hospitals

PURPOSE

This paper aims to fill gaps in one's knowledge of the impact of organizational change on two outcomes relevant to hospital service quality (performance obstacles and physician job satisfaction) and in one's knowledge of the role of middle manager change-oriented leadership in relation to the same outcomes. Further, the authors aim to identify how physician participation in decision-making is impacted by organizational change and change-oriented leadership, as well as how it mediates the relationships between these two variables, performance obstacles and job satisfaction.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design including data from Norwegian hospital physicians (N = 556). A hypothetical model was developed based on existing theory, confirmatory factor analysis was carried out in order to ensure the validity of measurement concepts, and the structural model was estimated using structural equation modelling.

FINDINGS

The organizational changes in question were positively related to performance obstacles both directly and indirectly through participation in decision-making. Organizational change was also negatively related to job satisfaction, both directly and indirectly. Change-oriented leadership was negatively related to performance obstacles, but only indirectly through participation in decision-making, whereas it was positively related to job satisfaction both directly and indirectly.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

The authors developed a theoretical model based on existing theory, but to their knowledge no other studies have tested these exact relationships within one model. These findings offer insights relevant to current and ongoing developments in the healthcare field and to the question of how hospitals may deal with continuous changes in ways that could contribute positively towards outcomes relevant to service quality.

Exploring the Relationships Between a Toxic Workplace Environment, Workplace Stress, and Project Success with the Moderating Effect of Organizational Support: Empirical Evidence from Pakistan

Purpose

Researchers have shown great interest in the relationships among a toxic workplace environment, workplace stress, and project success, which have led to an expansive body of research on the topic. In light of this work, the current study explores the effects of a toxic workplace environment (TWE) and workplace stress (WS) as determinants of project success in the renewable energy projects of Pakistan. Based on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, the study proposes and tests a model with organizational support as a moderating variable.

Research Methodology

A 30-item questionnaire survey was administered among staff of ten renewable energy project companies located in the vicinity of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad (Pakistan). The target population was senior managers, middle-level managers, and administrative staff. Structural equation modelling was used to estimate the predictive power of the model.

Results

A toxic workplace environment was found to have negative relationships with project success and workplace stress. Organizational support served as a moderator in the relationship between a toxic workplace environment and workplace stress and thus contributed to the success of a project.

Conclusion

Toxic workplace environment and the resulting workplace stress have a negative effect on project success. Projects undertaken in the energy sector have tight deadlines, which create stress that leads to a range of mental and physical health problems. Workers facing these problems can ultimately suffer from such diseases as depression, anxiety, and insomnia. These issues lower morale and, thus, negatively affect productivity. The provision of organizational support can mitigate the negative effects.

Work Ability, Burnout Complaints, and Work Engagement Among Employees With Chronic Diseases: Job Resources as Targets for Intervention?

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the occupational well-being among employees with chronic diseases, and the buffering effect of four job resources, possibly offering targets to enhance occupational well-being.

METHOD

This cross-sectional study (N = 1951) was carried out among employees in educational and (semi-)governmental organizations in the Netherlands. The dimensions of the survey were chronic diseases (i.e., physical, mental, or both physical and mental), occupational well-being (i.e., work ability, burnout complaints, and work engagement), and job resources (i.e., autonomy, social support by colleagues, supportive leadership style, and open and communicative culture). First, it was analyzed if chronic diseases were associated with occupational well-being. Second, it was analyzed if each of the four job resources would predict better occupational well-being. Third, possible moderation effects between the chronic disease groups and each job resource on occupational well-being were examined. Regression analyses were used, controlling for age.

RESULTS

Each chronic disease group was associated with a lower work ability. However, higher burnout complaints and a lower work engagement were only predicted by the group with mental chronic diseases and by the group with both physical and mental chronic disease(s). Furthermore, all four job resources predicted lower burnout complaints and higher work engagement, while higher work ability was only predicted by autonomy and a supportive leadership style. Some moderation effects were observed. Autonomy buffered the negative relationship between the chronic disease groups with mental conditions (with or without physical conditions) and work ability, and the positive relationship between the group with both physical and mental chronic disease(s) and burnout complaints. Furthermore, a supportive leadership style is of less benefit for occupational well-being among the employees with mental chronic diseases (with or without physical chronic diseases) compared to the group employees without chronic diseases. No buffering was demonstrated for social support of colleagues and an open and communicative organizational culture.

CONCLUSION

Autonomy offers opportunities to reinforce occupational well-being among employees with mental chronic diseases. A supportive leadership style needs more investigation to clarify why this job resource is less beneficial for employees with mental chronic diseases than for the employees without chronic diseases.

Prospective associations between burnout symptomatology and hair cortisol

OBJECTIVES

Burnout is a stress-related, psychological syndrome due to high levels of job stressors. It has been found to be related to impairments of well-being, health, and job outcomes. Alterations of glucocorticoid secretion might be a mechanism explaining the linkage between burnout and reduced psychophysical functioning. Regarding hair cortisol as indicator this assumption, so far, has been only examined in cross-sectional studies. Therefore, we aimed to compare cross-sectional and prospective associations between different burnout symptoms and hair cortisol, additionally investigating potential nonlinear associations.

METHODS

The prospective study sample comprises 194 employees (95% nurses) from German geriatric care. We assessed burnout symptoms at baseline (t1) and 6 months later (t2) and collected hair samples for cortisol analyses at t2.

RESULTS

We found significant cross-sectional and prospective nonlinear (i.e., exponential) but not linear relationships between an aggregated measure of the burnout subscales emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy and hair cortisol, even after adjusting for BMI and depressive mood. None of the single subscales of burnout was related to hair cortisol after adjusting for confounders.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings further support the assumption that accumulated burnout symptoms and hypercorticolism are positively related.

Burnout and job satisfaction of nursing staff in a South African acute mental health setting

Background

Psychiatric nurses constitute a fundamental part of the mental health care system in South Africa. However, high levels of burnout and job dissatisfaction among nursing staff have been associated with reduced empathy and quality of care, and poor service delivery. Stikland Psychiatric Hospital is a state psychiatric hospital situated in Belville and provides all levels of psychiatric care to a large part of the Cape metro region. To our knowledge, no previous studies have examined burnout and job satisfaction among nurses in this setting.

Aim

We assessed the relationship between burnout and job satisfaction among the nursing staff.

Setting

The study was conducted at Stikland Psychiatric Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and an established job satisfaction questionnaire to assess burnout and job satisfaction among 127 staff members associated with psychiatric nursing.

Results

In this population comprising mostly female (83.5%) nurses, scores for personal, work-related and client-related burnout were relatively high, but job satisfaction was also high. Higher levels of burnout were significantly associated (Pearson's linear correlation, r = -0.077, p < 0.01) with lower levels of job satisfaction. There were no significant associations between burnout or job satisfaction and gender, rank or years of experience.

Conclusions

If mental health service delivery is to be optimised, supportive or preventative processes should be implemented to reduce the prevalence of burnout in psychiatric nurses. This study adds to the scarce local knowledge and provides information that can be used to inform the development of supportive strategies for psychiatric nursing staff in South Africa.

Burnout, but not job strain, is associated with irritable bowel syndrome in working adults

OBJECTIVE

Although stress is an important component of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) pathophysiology, the possibility that work-related stress is implicated in the pathophysiology of IBS has not been widely studied. This study aimed to examine whether job strain (a combination of high job demands and low control at work) and/or burnout, the outcome of a gradual depletion of energetic resources resulting from chronic exposure to work-related stress, are associated with IBS.

METHODS

Fifty-five patients fulfilling the Rome III criteria for IBS and 214 matched healthy controls (HC) participated in this cross-sectional study. All participants completed a job strain measure, the Shirom - Melamed Burnout Measure (SMBM), and dietary and health questionnaires.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the prevalence of job strain between IBS patients and HC (25.5% vs. 23.0%, respectively). Job strain was not associated with increased IBS prevalence (adjusted OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 0.54-7.33). In contrast, the mean burnout score in the IBS group was significantly higher than in HC (2.9 ± 1.1 vs. 2.1 ± 0.8, p < .001). Burnout was associated with a 2.41-fold elevated prevalence of IBS (95% CI: 1.16-5.02), after adjusting for potential confounding variables including job strain. Moreover, the odds of having IBS increased in patients with a high burnout level (adjusted OR = 3.3, 95% CI:1.09-10.03).

CONCLUSION

Burnout, but not job strain, is associated with the prevalence of IBS in working adults.

Interactive effects of personal resources and job characteristics on mental health: a population-based panel study

Purpose

We examined 10 job characteristics in a large population-based sample and tested for positive and negative effects on mental health. In addition, we tested for possible effects on mental health from interactions with locus of control and self-esteem.

Methods

The sample comprised longitudinal data on 2353 male and 1960 female employees from the German socio-economic panel collected between 2010 and 2012. Mental health was assessed with the mental component summary score derived from the short-form 12 health survey. We computed hierarchical regression analyses while controlling for potential confounds and baseline mental health. Interaction effects were specified with post hoc simple slope analyses.

Results

Time pressure, interruptions, job insecurity, and conflicts were negative predictors of mental health in all models. The personal resource of self-esteem was a positive predictor. Moreover, there were interactions: opportunities for promotion were beneficial only for employees with medium or high levels of self-esteem, whereas the contrary was true for employees with very low self-esteem. Working on weekends was negatively related to mental health for people with moderate to low internal control but not for people with high internal control.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that there are job demands that are related to poor mental health regardless of personal resources. These aspects are important to consider in workplace risk assessment. By contrast, with other job characteristics (e.g., opportunities for promotion, weekend work), the effects vary between individuals.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1007/s00420-020-01555-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Strategies for mitigating burnout among early career doctors in Nigeria: lessons learnt from the qualitative CHARTING study

Background

Early career doctors (ECDs) are faced with many challenges due to their transition from undergraduate medical/dental studentship to being postgraduate doctors and being in an early phase of their career. The specific factors that affect ECDs in their careers and endeavors at the workplace range from poor remuneration, particularly in developing countries, to psychosocial problems (such as burnout [BO] syndrome). There is a dearth of information on BO among ECDs in Nigeria. This qualitative study aims to explore the opinions of ECDs in Nigeria on the causal/predisposing factors of BO, effects of BO, and strategies for mitigating BO among ECDs in Nigeria.

Method

Using purposive sampling method, two sessions of focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 14 ECDs (key informants) holding key leadership positions and who were delegates of other ECDs in Nigeria were conducted to explore their experiences on psychological issues among ECDs. Data collected were transcribed and analyzed thematically.

Results

BO is an issue of serious concern among ECDs in Nigeria. The causes of BO are diverse, some of which include low staff strength, prolonged work hours, wrong counseling, lack of job description and specification, and abuse of powers by trainers. In order to mitigate the issue of BO among ECDs, the respondents recommended that work policy review, medical workforce strengthening, stakeholder dialog on ECDs’ welfare, regular psychological review of ECDs, and provision of free yearly medicals need to be looked into. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that the participants considered BO issues among ECDs to be common, and it affected their performance and the overall quality of care in Nigeria health system. Based on our findings, there is an urgent need to mitigate the problem of emotional exhaustion among ECDs in Nigeria.

The relationships of job and family demands and job and family resources with family caregivers' strain

Background

Because of an expected increase in the number of family caregivers, there is a growing public and scientific interest in family caregiving and more specifically in the combination of family care with paid employment. It is important to gain insight in the family caregivers’ strain and determining factors in the job and family domain.

Aim

The aim of the study was to examine the associations of job and family demands and job and family resources with indicators of caregivers’ psychological strain, that is caregiver burden, work‐related emotional exhaustion and general ill mental health. In our research, we focused on individuals who combine paid employment with family caregiving.

Methods

A cross‐sectional design was used. The study sample was derived in 2011 from a Dutch financial organisation and a healthcare organisation. A digital fully structured questionnaire was used. The sample consisted of 187 employees who identified themselves as family caregivers. Descriptive statistics and hierarchical linear regression analysis were performed.

Results

Job demands (i.e. workload, work–family conflict) and family demands (i.e. family care hours and family–work conflict) were significantly positively associated with all three domain‐specific indicators of strain. The resources of work–family and family–work enrichment and autonomy did not contribute to less experienced strain. More supervisor and colleague support was associated with lower ill mental health.

Conclusion

Our study showed that job demands (workload, work–family conflict) and family demands (family care hours, family–work conflict) were clearly associated with caregiver strain, while associations for job and family resources were not evident. It remains necessary to pay attention to the demanding aspects of dual roles of family caregivers but also to investigate the resources they have available at work as well as in their home situation and explore their potential reducing effect on family caregivers’ strain.

How Contextual Constraints Shape Midcareer High School Teachers' Stress Management and Use of Digital Support Tools: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Persistent psychosocial stress is endemic in the modern workplace, including among midcareer high school (secondary comprehensive) teachers in England. Understanding contextual influences on teachers' self-management of stress along with their use of digital health technologies could provide important insights into creating more usable and accessible stress support interventions.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the constraints on stress management and prevention among teachers in the school environment and how this shapes the use of digitally enabled stress management tools.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 teachers from southern England. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Teachers were unanimous in their recognition of workplace stress, describing physical (such as isolation and scheduling) and cultural (such as stigma and individualism) aspects in the workplace context, which influence their ability to manage stress. A total of 12 participants engaged with technology to self-manage their physical or psychological well-being, with more than half of the participants using consumer wearables, but Web-based or smartphone apps were rarely accessed in school. However, digital well-being interventions recommended by school leaders could potentially be trusted and adopted.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings from this study bring together both the important cultural and physical contextual constraints on the ability of midcareer high school teachers to manage workplace stress. This study highlights correlates of stress and offers initial insight into how digital health interventions are currently being used to help with stress, both within and outside high schools. The findings add another step toward designing tailored digital stress support for teachers.

The burden of high workload on the health-related quality of life among home care workers in Northern Sweden

Objective

Previous studies have shown that high workload affects health negatively. However, studies are lacking among home care workers. The aim of this study is to examine the burden of perceived workload on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among home care workers and to determine whether psychosocial factors modify such a relationship.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted in which 1162 (58% response rate) home care workers participated. The psychosocial factors were measured by QPSnordic. HRQoL was measured by EuroQol 5 dimensions, from which responses were translated into quality-adjusted life year scores (QALY). Propensity scores were used with absolute risk differences (RD). Stratified analysis was used to test the buffer hypothesis of the demand–control–support model.

Results

Personnel with a high workload had a statistically significant 0.035 lower QALY than personnel with a normal workload. This difference was also statistically significant for the Visual Analogue Scale (RD 5.0) and the mobility (RD 0.033) and anxiety/depression scales (RD 0.20) dimensions of EQ-5D. For QALY, the effect of a high workload compared to a normal workload was higher, with low (RD 0.045, significant) compared with high (RD 0.015, non-significant) social support; while it was similar, and non-significant results, for low and high control.

Conclusions

Our study shows that lowered work burden would be beneficial for home care personnel. Furthermore, our results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing social support could reduce work-related illness.

Evolution of Job Satisfaction and Burnout Levels of Emergency Department Professionals during a Period of Economic Recession

Satisfaction at work has been found to be a predictive factor of permanency. On the other hand, burnout has been associated with financial loss. The purpose of this study was to analyse the levels of satisfaction and burnout of professionals in a hospital emergency department and make a comparison with results from the same service during the economic recession in 2012. An analytical, cross-sectional and descriptive study was undertaken during two time periods into the levels of satisfaction and burnout of the professionals of an emergency department. Consequently, 146 replies were received. The percentage of professionals who considered their salary to be unsatisfactory in 2012 diminished in comparison with 2018 (p = 0.034), while job stability was considered more satisfactory in 2018 (p = 0.039) and the timetable in 2018 as more unsatisfactory (p = 0.009). With regards to burnout, it was observed that in 2018 the score for depersonalisation had fallen (p = 0.029) in comparison with 2012. An improvement in the level of satisfaction is observed in 2018, and more positive scores have also been found in the depersonalisation subscale in 2018. An inverse association was observed between depersonalisation in 2018 and overall satisfaction.

Burnout Among Forensic Interviewers, How They Cope, and What Agencies Can Do to Help

The current study used quantitative and qualitative responses from 250 forensic interviewers (FIs) in the United States to examine predictors of burnout and personal coping mechanisms. Findings indicated that burnout was primarily driven by work-related factors including frequently feeling overwhelmed with job-related duties, inadequate organizational support, and direct exposure to graphic materials involving children. Moreover, having a higher degree of compassion satisfaction and being non-White significantly mitigated symptoms of burnout. Qualitative findings indicated that FIs regularly experienced varied and personalized feelings of burnout and utilized a variety of coping methods to combat their stressors. FIs in this study also made individual suggestions regarding how their respective agencies can assist in the coping process. Policy implications are discussed.

A Comparison of Frequency- and Agreement-Based Response Formats in the Measurement of Burnout and Engagement

The present research compares and contrasts frequency versus agreement response formats, two approaches to measuring job burnout and work engagement. Construct-based and measurement-based arguments for the superiority of the frequency response format in measuring burnout/engagement are provided, demonstrating that frequency-based measurements will explain relatively more variance in outcome variables. Fair comparison, time order counterbalance, and multiple measuring waves justify the comparison and reduce common method errors of self-report measures. Sample 1 (N = 242) was composed of employees from multiple organizations, while the participants in Sample 2 (N = 281) were employees from one company. Relative importance analysis showed that frequency outperforms the agreement response format in measuring burnout and engagement in both samples. These findings suggest that the frequency response format provides a more valuable method of detecting the dynamic nature of burnout/engagement, which offers methodological guidance for future research involving dynamic constructs. These findings can lead to improvements in the measurement of the dynamic experiences of burnout and engagement. This is one of the first studies to provide evidence whether the dynamic nature of the constructs would have any bearing on the response formats.

Relating Neuroticism to Emotional Exhaustion: A Dynamic Approach to Personality

We build on a novel model of personality [PersDyn] that captures three sources of individual differences (here applied to neuroticism): (1) one’s baseline level of behavior, affect, and cognitions (baseline); (2) the extent to which people experience different neuroticism levels (variability); and (3) the swiftness with which they return to their neuroticism baseline once they deviated from it (attractor strength). To illustrate the model, we apply the PersDyn model to the study of the relationship between neuroticism and emotional exhaustion. In the first study, we conducted a 5-day experience sampling study on 89 employees who reported on their level of state neuroticism six times per day. We found that higher levels of baseline neuroticism and variability were related to increased emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, we found an interaction effect between baseline and attractor strength: people with a high baseline and high attractor strength tend to experience a high degree of emotional exhaustion, whereas people with low levels of baseline neuroticism are less likely to suffer from exhaustion if their attractor strength is high. In the second study, we conducted a laboratory experiment on 163 participants, in which we manipulated state neuroticism via short movie clips. Although the PersDyn parameters were not related to post-experiment emotional exhaustion, the interaction effect between baseline and attractor strength was replicated. It is concluded that a dynamic approach to neuroticism is important in understanding emotional exhaustion.

Exploring Proactive Behaviors of Employees in the Prevention of Burnout

Extensive evidence indicates that burnout can have detrimental consequences for individuals as well as organizations; therefore, there is a great need for burnout prevention. While burnout prevention interventions initiated by the employer have previously been studied, the proactive behaviors employees deploy themselves to prevent burnout have received less research attention. The purpose of this exploratory qualitative interview study was to enhance our understanding of the self-initiated actions employees undertake to prevent burnout, using the model of proactive motivation and conservation of resources theory as theoretical frameworks. Findings indicated that most participants reported to engage in specific kinds of proactive burnout prevention behaviors. The reported self-initiated proactive actions were aimed at maintaining and/or increasing resources and/or reducing demands in the work, home, and personal domain. The study contributes to the literature by linking the proactive motivation process to the prevention of burnout and by focusing on both work and non-work factors. Results of this study can be used in further research into the (effectiveness of) employees’ proactive burnout prevention behaviors and serve as a starting point for developing interventions aimed at enhancing proactive burnout prevention.

Challenge and hindrance appraisals of job demands: one man's meat, another man's poison?

Background and objectives: Many job stress models assume that all workers experience a particular job demand in the same way - an assumption that may or may not be warranted and that has rarely been tested. Building on appraisal theory, we explore (a) how individuals appraise particular job demands (i.e., as a challenge or as a hindrance) and (b) how these appraisals affect the relationship between job demands and engagement/burnout.Design and Methods: A multi-occupation cross-sectional study was conducted among 527 Chinese workers (321 females, 60.9%; M_age = 32.74, SD = 6.70). The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.Results: We found that the appraisal of job demands (time urgency, role conflict, and emotional demands) as a challenge moderated the associations between these demands and burnout/engagement. Generally, the results indicate that the presence of high job demands was associated with negative outcomes. However, these detrimental effects were weaker if workers appraised these characteristics as being high-challenge.Conclusions: This study extends research on job demands within the challenge-hindrance framework by focusing on the moderating effects of appraisals. Given the important role of appraisal, we conclude that researchers should include appraisal more systematically in their theorizing and research on the effects of job demands on well-being.

Do age and gender contribute to workers' burnout symptoms?

Background

Despite mounting evidence on the association between work stress and burnout, there is limited knowledge about the extent to which workers' age and gender are associated with burnout.

Aims

To evaluate the relationship between age, gender and their interaction with burnout in a sample of Canadian workers.

Methods

Data were collected in 2009-12 from a sample of 2073 Canadian workers from 63 workplaces in the province of Quebec. Data were analysed with multilevel regression models to test for linear and non-linear relationships between age and burnout. Analyses adjusted for marital status, parental status, educational level and number of working hours were conducted on the total sample and stratified by gender.

Results

Data were collected from a sample of 2073 Canadian workers (response rate 73%). Age followed a non-linear relationship with emotional exhaustion and total burnout, while it was linearly related to cynicism and reduced professional efficacy. Burnout level reduced with increasing age in men, but the association was bimodal in women, with women aged between 20-35 and over 55 years showing the highest burnout level.

Conclusions

These results suggest that burnout symptoms varied greatly according to different life stages of working men and women. Younger men, and women aged between 20-35 and 55 years and over are particularly susceptible and should be targeted for programmes to reduce risk of burnout.

Burnout Syndrome in Public Servants: Prevalence and association with Occupational Stressors

Abstract The objectives of this study were to identify the prevalence of Burnout Syndrome (BS) and the predictive power of occupational stressors for its dimensions - Enthusiasm toward the job (inverse), Psychological Exhaustion, Indolence and Guilt. This study assessed a random sample of 538 public servants from a State Court of Justice (RS/Brazil) who answered the Spanish Burnout Inventory, a sociodemographic questionnaire, a work-related questionnaire and and occupational stressors questionnaire. The prevalence identified was 6.5% for Profile 1 BS (Enthusiasm toward the job - inverse, Psychological Exhaustion, Indolence) and 4.4% for Profile 2 BS (Enthusiasm toward the job - inverse, Psychological Exhaustion, Indolence, Guilt). Stressors that predicted Burnout Syndrome were work content, work organization, type of public served, social environment of work, physical conditions of the workplace, work hours, workload, relationship with heads, and relationship with colleagues. Results suggest a need for intervention in occupational stressors present in work organization.