Ergophilia… ergophobia… ergo… burnout?

Abstract

Most of the reported research linking stress to illness is not based on data derived from occupational settings. Studies have associated high levels oj occupational stress, dubbed "burnout," as being linked to physiological and psychological illness and disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine whether workers experiencing high levels of occupational stress have patterns of somatic complaints and illnesses differing/rom their cohorts. The population consisted of all secondary school teachers in one large Alabama school district. O] these 801 teachers, 58% returned completed instruments. Based on the operational constructs oj the Maslach Burnout Inventory, 20% of the subjects were classified as burned out. The frequency and/or intensity of 26 somatic complaints and 3 illnesses were significantly greater for subjects who were classified as burned out. Twenty five somatic complaints could be utilized in a discriminant function model to correctly classify 89% of the subjects as either burned out or not. It appears that the present health concern by professions, employers, and third-party benefactors regarding occupational stress is justifiable.After an extensive review of the literature on stress and somatic complaints, Tracy (1965) concluded that there is overwhelming evidence that "stress causes, or is linked to disease." Among the disorders he reported to be related to stress were heart diseases, colitis, constipation and diarrhea, liver and gall bladder diseases, anemia, frequent head colds, loss of sight, asthma, arthritis, rheumatic diseases, bronchitis, digestive diseases, intestinal diseases, ulcers of the stomach and duodenum, diabetes, nervous and mental disorders, backaches, hemorrhoids, and cancer. Norfolk (1977) reported that stress has a significant impact on sleep patterns, psychosomatic ailments such as tension headaches, indigestion, and colitis. Albrecht (1979) noted that "the list of diseases, researchers suggest as being caused by stress or aggravated by stress reads, like a Who's Who in American Disease'."It is worth noting that most of the reported research linking stress to illness is not based on data derived from occupational settings (Schwartz, 1980). Although there is a growing body of literature suggesting a relationship between stress and various diseases, there is limited research on the pattern of somatic complaints among professionals under stress (Belcastro, 1982). Especially lacking are empirical studies that examine how stressed workers differ in their pattern of somatic complaints from nonstressed workers. In the last decade, a proliferation of publications have associated high levels of occupational stress, dubbed "burnout," with physiological and psychological illnesses and disorders. However, many of these reports were predicted on the general stress literature. The question remains whether workers experiencing high levels of occupational stress exhibit decreased health status. Operational DefinitionA unanimous consensus of the construct of burnout does not exist. H...

Symptoms of professional burnout: A review of the empirical evidence.

“…Only a few major illnesses have been linked to burnout, and those inconsistently. Belcastro (1982) found a difference between burned out and non-burned out subjects (differentiated by scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory or MBI) in the frequency of two cut of twelve diagnosed illnesses (gallbladder and cardiovascular disorders), whereas Belcastro and Hays (1984), looking at the same diseases, report a difference in the onset of ulcers and kidney disorders only, and Belcastro and Gold (1983) found no differences for any of the same diseases. Subjects in all three studies were teachers.…”

A avaliação do Burnout em professores. Comparação de instrumentos: CBP-R e MBI-ED

“…É destacável o valor alcançado na medida geral de burnout, que chega a atingir um valor de fiabilidade de .91. Estes dados apóiam o uso recomendado desta medida global de burnout, que poderia ser relevante do ponto de vista teórico e prático (Moreno, Bustos, Matallana & Millares, 1997;Belcastro;Gold & Hays, 1984). Neste sentido, o CBP-R oferece uma vantagem em comparação com o MBI-Ed, em que a utilização desta média, segundo as autoras (Maslach & Jackson (1981, não parece ser muito adequad, e recomenda-se a interpretação dos perfis.…”

The Effect of Technostress on Emotional Exhaustion and Coping Strategies

“…The research work introduced emotional exhaustion as the state of depletion and fatigue that is considered the main component of job burnout (Maslach and Jackson, 1981); (Wright and Cropanzano, 1998). While on the other article says, emotional exhaustion is associated with a host of somatic difficulties, such as colds, gastro-intestinal problems, headaches and sleep disturbances (Belcastro, 1982;Belcastro and Hays, 1984). It is also known as an exploratory factor of burnout.…”