Association between insomnia symptoms, job strain and burnout syndrome: a cross-sectional survey of 1300 financial workers

Abstract

ObjectivesProfessional burnout is closely related to work stress but less frequently associated with disturbed sleep. This study determines whether job strain and sleep disturbances are associated risk factors of burnout among financial workers.DesignObservational study.Participants1300 employees (725 female) of a financial company.Primary measuresSelf-reported questionnaires (Maslach Burnout Inventory, Job Content Questionnaire, Sleep questionnaire based on ICSD-3 classification), the Epworth sleepiness scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).ResultThe prevalence of burnout was 10.2% (9.0% moderate and 1.2% severe). 23.3% of workers were considered with high job strain, and 93.1% had a high level of job satisfaction. 16.8% of individuals had insomnia and 97% reported non-restorative sleep. The bivariate analyses demonstrate a higher risk of burnout in participants with insomnia (OR=14.7, 95% CI 9.8 to 21.9), non-restorative sleep (OR=9.9, 95% CI 5.1 to 19.5) and anxiety (OR=10.2, 95% CI 6.8 to 15.3). High job strain was associated with burnout (OR=1.9, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.6). This association was not maintained after adjustment for sleep parameters. Job satisfaction was another independent risk factor for burnout (OR=124, 95% CI 65 to 237).ConclusionsIn our sample of financial workers, job strain represents a burnout risk factor only if associated with insomnia. Insomnia can be considered as a relevant clinical marker that should be targeted in mental health prevention programmes at the workplace.

Associations between sleep disturbances, mental health outcomes and burnout in firefighters, and the mediating role of sleep during overnight work: A cross‐sectional study

“…Further longitudinal studies incorporating objective sleep measures, including prospective studies using polysomnography to examine different sleep stages and sleep disorder severity, also proposed by Metlaine et al. (), are vital to determine causality within our mediation findings, and test the efficacy of sleep‐related interventions in reducing burnout.…”

“…percent body fat). Future research in firefighters should also consider measuring and adjusting for job strain, which is known to influence burnout (Ahola & Hakanen, ; Metlaine et al., ). Finally, this study did not assess on‐duty workload (e.g.…”

“…In addition to sleep, job strain is another factor known to influence burnout (Ahola & Hakanen, 2007;Metlaine et al, 2017), but it was not specifically assessed in the current study. In the absence of this measure, participants reported the presence of a second job outside of being a firefighter, and total firefighting work hours (including any overtime hours) per week (over 4 weeks), which were included as covariates.…”

Making the Case for ‘Power Abuse Disorder' as a Nosologic Entity

“…One burnout study found a higher rate of burnout in intermediate (as opposed to high or low) management positions [37], reflecting, in our opinion, the 2-sided power struggle of a “hierarchically sandwiched” individual. Accordingly, a Swedish study [39] found the smallest incidence of burnout in business owners (as opposed to white- and blue collar workers in companies), a finding that we would explain by the hierarchically supreme position of a business owner.…”

“…We will show below that many PADed individuals may very likely carry the Zeitgeist diagnosis “burnout” (PubMed, accessed on March 30, 2017, searching for “burnout” or “burn out” or “burn-out” and year of publication: 1990, 221 hits vs. 2016, 1,279 hits). The diagnosis “burnout” (see, e.g., [33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41]) has become largely socially sanctioned and culturally mainstream, removing some of the stigma attached to mental disorders, maybe even carrying, in some subcultures, an honorable connotation like the Japanese “karoshi” (from the English “crash,” signifying “overwork death”). Interestingly, karoshi (see, e.g., [42,43]) may also be a consequence of power struggles within a commercial institution and may, in some cases, be predominantly due to PAD.…”