Distress in the workplace: Characterizing the relationship of burnout measures to the Occupational Depression Inventory.

Abstract

Burnout has been found to problematically overlap with depression. However, the generalizability of this finding remains disputed. This study examined burnout–depression overlap using the recently developed Occupational Depression Inventory (ODI) and two burnout measures, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI). The study involved two teacher samples employed in France (N = 1,450) and New Zealand (N = 492). We found the correlations of the ODI with (a) the MBI’s emotional exhaustion (EE) subscale and (b) the CBI to reach .80. An explanation of these high correlations based on content overlap in fatigue-related items was ruled out. The ODI–EE and ODI–CBI correlations were significantly stronger than the correlations among the MBI’s subscales. Exploratory structural equation modeling bifactor analyses revealed that the ODI captures what the MBI’s EE subscale and the CBI measure. The general factor explained 86% of the common variance extracted when considering ODI and EE items and 89% when considering ODI and CBI items. The findings indicate that burnout’s exhaustion core is part of a depressive syndrome. Importantly, the ODI not only assesses exhaustion but also each of the other core symptoms of major depression, including suicidal thoughts. In contrast to burnout measures, the ODI allows for both a dimensional and a diagnostic approach to job-related distress, consistent with the history of clinical research on depression. Moreover, the ODI has demonstrated particularly robust psychometric and structural properties in past research. The ODI’s value for occupational medical specialists in replacing burnout measures is discussed.

Administrators’ preparedness to address physician burnout before and during COVID‐19

“…For example, a study analyzing the effects of patient safety programs in high-hazard workplaces, showed that implementing educational curricula for safety policies, decreased safety events. 24 Similar training could be provided for health crises to limit risks from burnout.…”

“…This lack of preparedness is surprising considering how prevalent burnout is among health care workers and emphasizes the need for better formal and informal training of administrators. For example, a study analyzing the effects of patient safety programs in high‐hazard workplaces, showed that implementing educational curricula for safety policies, decreased safety events 24 . Similar training could be provided for health crises to limit risks from burnout.…”

Italian version of the Occupational Depression Inventory: Validity, reliability, and associations with health, economic, and work-life characteristics

“…Fourth, our study did not reexamine the overlap between burnout and depression. Fortunately, this issue has been addressed extensively in past research ( 4 , 46 , 49 – 52 ), including ODI-based research ( 17 , 21 ). The advantages of relying on the construct of (occupational) depression have been discussed on many occasions ( 12 , 22 , 23 , 53 – 55 ).…”

“…In terms of its criterion validity and nomological network, occupational depression has been linked to a variety of job-related and context-free variables, including work engagement, job satisfaction, social support at work, job autonomy, trait anxiety, general health status, and objective cognitive performance ( 8 , 13 – 16 ). Furthermore, the instrument has served to clarify the controversial issue of burnout-depression overlap ( 17 , 21 ). ODI-based research has carried further the notion that burnout symptoms are part of a depressive syndrome and do not reflect a unique or distinct entity.…”

Burned-out with burnout? Insights from historical analysis

“…The ODI has demonstrated criterion validity in relation to a variety of variables, including work-life characteristics (e.g., interpersonal conflict at work, job incivility, unreasonable work tasks, unnecessary work tasks, work overload, social support at work, job autonomy, skill development, job recognition, job meaningfulness), general health status, and objective cognitive performance ( Bianchi and Schonfeld, 2021a , 2022 ; Hill et al, 2021 ; Bianchi et al, 2022a ; Schonfeld and Bianchi, 2022 ). An ODI-based study involving a deep-learning framework recently found occupational depression to be (a) negatively linked to companies’ stock growth and (b) positively linked to states’ economic deprivation ( Sen et al, 2022 ).…”