Occupational burnout and chronic fatigue in the work of academic teachers–moderating role of selected health behaviours

Abstract

Increasing and changing demands for academic teachers worldwide are leading to different consequences, some of which are negative, such as physical and mental health impairment. With the job demands-resources model and the transactional model of occupational stress adopted as a theoretical framework, a cross-sectional study among Polish academic teachers was conducted. The aim of the study is to identify the role of vital personal resources understood as selected health-promoting behaviours, such as (1) stress-coping strategies, (2) sleep hygiene, and (3) using annual vacation leave, in the process of the regeneration. In a cross-sectional survey, the following variables have been assessed: 1) work-related stress using the Psychosocial Risk Scale, 2) occupational burnout using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), 3) chronic fatigue using the Polish adaptation of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), and selected health behaviours of academic teachers 4) stress-coping strategies with the help of the Polish version of Mini-COPE and 5) rest: the amount of sleep and vacation days devoted to rest using a short questionnaire designed by the authors. The sample (N = 340) was comprised of academic teachers employed at Polish higher education institutions who have experienced changes in the work environment in recent years. We conducted a multiple regression analysis to determine the relationships among stress, burnout, and chronic fatigue, looking at coping strategies and rest as a moderator. The results indicate that there is a strong relationship between stress resulting from an excessively demanding work environment on the one hand and occupational burnout and chronic fatigue on the other. At the same time, selected health behaviours of academic teachers only slightly moderate the analyzed relationship. Avoidance strategies strengthen the relationship between stress and its negative consequences, while rest and—to a limited extent—the amount of sleep only slightly contribute to weakening the analyzed relationship.

Determinants of Academicians’ Mental Health in Higher Education Institutions: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Moreover, it can also be summarized that there are many studies from some countries like Malaysia, South Africa, and China. The search results indicate that job demand influences mental health, which are in agreement with part of the literature (Zhang et al, 2022;Liu & Yan, 2020;Teixeira, Marqueze & Moreno, 2020;Brondino et al, 2022;Springer et al, 2023;Damayanti et al, 2020;Awang et al, 2021;Akunne et al, 2021;Kabito et al, 2020;Anees et al, 2021;Isa & Palpanadan, 2020;Mohamed et al, 2021;Shen & Slater, 2021;Nasution et al, 2022;Almhdawi et al, 2021;Liu & Yan, 2020;Nasution et al, 2022;Almdawi et al, 2021). Academics will be able to better manage the demands and resources of their careers if they have a more in-depth and nuanced grasp of both.…”

“…The review in Table 1 indicates that 21 studies show the linkage between job demand on mental health among academicians in higher education. Most of studies reviewed are related to job demand in the context of the higher education institutions from a quantitative perspective (Teixeira, Marqueze & Moreno, 2020;Zhang et al, 2022;Brondino et al, 2022;Springer et al, 2023;Damayanti et al, 2020;Alwaely & Jarrah, 2020;Awang et al, 2021;Akunne et al, 2021;Kabito et al, 2020;Hussin et al, 2022;Jonge & Huter, 2021;Anees et al, 2021;Isa & Palpanadan, 2020;Mohamed et al, 2021;Shen & Slater, 2021;Adebayo, 2022;Nasution et al, 2022;Esteban et al, 2022;Almhdawi et al, 2021;Liu & Yan, 2020).…”

“…Preliminary papers examined the influence job demand on mental health such as anxiety (Zhang et al, 2022;Liu & Yan, 2020), stress (Teixeira, Marqueze & Moreno, 2020;Brondino et al, 2022;Springer et al, 2023;Damayanti et al, 2020;Awang et al, 2021;Akunne et al, 2021;Kabito et al, 2020;Anees et al, 2021;Isa & Palpanadan, 2020;Mohamed et al, 2021;Shen & Slater, 2021;Nasution et al, 2022;Almhdawi et al, 2021;Liu & Yan, 2020) and depression (Nasution et al, 2022;Almdawi et al, 2021). In addition, findings indicated that there is a link between feeling pressured to write academic papers and publishing them (Teixeira, Marqueze & Moreno, 2020;Springer et al, 2023), non-academic responsibilities (Awang et al, 2021), online teaching (Zhang et al, 2022) and stress.…”

“…Furthermore, some previous studies (e.g., Springer et al, 2023;Kabito et al, 2020) underscored the detrimental effects of an overly demanding work environment, linking it to burnout, turnover intention, and chronic fatigue.…”

Fatigue among anaesthesiologists in Europe

“…The relationship between fatigue and burnout in medical practitioners is complex and multifaceted. Work-related stress is common to both fatigue and burnout, 32 representing different stages along the same continuum. 33,34 Fatigue was a covariant independently associated with burnout in a French study of anaesthesia personnel, 35 and anaesthesiologists have above average rates of burnout compared to other specialties with, at or below average satisfaction with work-life integration, 36,37 mirroring those found in studies of fatigue.…”