A Rasch analysis of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)

Abstract

Burnout as a concept indicative of a work-related state of mental exhaustion is recognized around the globe. Numerous studies showed that burnout has negative consequences for both individuals and organizations but also for society at large, especially in welfare states where sickness absence and work incapacitation are covered by social funds. This underlines the importance of a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess employee burnout levels. Although the Maslach Burnout Inventory is by far the most frequently used questionnaire for assessing burnout, it is associated with several shortcomings and has been criticized on theoretical as well as empirical grounds. Thus, there is a need for an alternative questionnaire with a strong conceptual basis and proper psychometric qualities. This challenge has been taken up by introducing the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), according to which burnout is conceived as a work-related state of exhaustion among employees, characterized by extreme tiredness, reduced ability to regulate cognitive and emotional processes, and mental distancing. Given that the BAT is a new measure of burnout, its psychometric properties need to be evaluated. This paper focuses on an evaluation of the internal construct validity of the BAT using Rasch analysis in two random samples (n = 800, each) drawn from larger representative samples of the working population of the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium). The BAT has sound psychometric properties and fulfils the measurement criteria according to the Rasch model. The BAT score reflects the scoring structure indicated by the developers of the scale and the BAT’s four subscales can be summarized into a single burnout score. The BAT score also works invariantly for women and men, younger and older respondents, and across both countries. Hence, the BAT can be used in organizations for screening and identifying employees who are at risk of burnout.

Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)—Development, Validity, and Reliability

“…Given the novelty of our study, this was a first step in validating the BAT. Although the results are promising and seem to be corroborated by three very recent studies [ 68 , 69 , 70 ], they are still preliminary. Additional, more elaborate testing should take place in the future in order to evaluate the validity of the BAT.…”

“…Moreover, another recent study found that the former second-order factor model was invariant across seven cross-national representative samples from Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and The Netherlands [ 69 ]. Finally, using Rasch analysis it was shown that the core symptom-dimensions of the BAT constitute a unidimensional scale [ 70 ]. This means that also from the rather rigorous Rasch perspective, a single composite score of the BAT can be computed, which is indicative for a person’s level of burnout; the higher the score, the higher the level of burnout.…”

The Ecuadorian Version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT): Adaptation and Validation

“…Other recent studies [ 36 ] showed that the bifactor model fits the best to the data, indicating a strong general factor, which is consistent with the idea that burnout is a syndrome comprising a set of related symptoms referring to one underlying psychological condition. Finally, there are also studies that, through the use of Rasch analysis, have shown that the core-symptoms–dimensions of the BAT constitute a unidimensional scale [ 12 ].…”

“…Additionally, Sharma et al (2020) suggested a need for novel and innovative research approaches to explore burnout during a pandemic such as COVID-19, considering that it could impact all kinds of professionals’ mental health [ 11 ]. The development, validation and psychometric properties of new instruments will contribute to this research area [ 12 , 13 ]. In this line, Schaufeli et al (2020) developed the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), a new self-report questionnaire to measure burnout based on a novel theory that overcomes these critiques on its assessment.…”

Is There Utility in Specifying Professional Efficacy as an Outcome of Burnout in the Employee Health Impairment Process

“…The BAT has shown to be a reliable and valid measure, for example a recent study showed that BAT-assessed burnout could be operationalized as a syndrome (second-order model) and that it was equivalent in representative samples across six European countries and Japan [ 10 ]. Similarly, Rasch analyses showed that the items of the BAT functioned well for both the Netherlands and Belgium [ 11 ].…”