Burnout Levels and Self-Rated Health Prospectively Predict Future Long-Term Sickness Absence: A Study Among Female Health Professionals

Objective: This study investigates the predictive validity of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), and of three health indicators (depression, anxiety, and self-rated health), for long-term sickness absence (LTSA). Methods: Questionnaires were sent to all employees in a Swedish County Council (N = 6118), and the overall response rate was 65% (N = 3976). As 82% were women, only women were included in the study. Certified LTSA data were collected. Results: Logistic regression analyses showed that high scores on exhaustion, depression, and poor self-rated health increased the risk of future LTSA (≥90 days). Support for the proposed two-factorial structure of the OLBI was found, including the dimensions of exhaustion and disengagement from work. Conclusion: Using burnout measures might be useful to identify those at risk for LTSA, and to enable preventive solutions in organizations.

[1]  G. Huston.  The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. , 1987, The Journal of rheumatology.

[2]  Christina Maslach,et al.  Early predictors of job burnout and engagement. , 2008, The Journal of applied psychology.

[3]  Arnold B. Bakker,et al.  The convergent validity of two burnout instruments: A multitrait-multimethod analysis. , 2003 .

[4]  Thomas Lund,et al.  Prospective study of physical and psychosocial risk factors for sickness absence. , 2006, Occupational medicine.

[5]  Michiel A. J. Kompier,et al.  Job design and well-being , 2002 .

[6]  D. C. Glass,et al.  Perceived control, depressive symptomatology, and professional burnout: A review of the evidence , 1996 .

[7]  M. Kivimäki,et al.  Sickness absence in hospital physicians: 2 year follow up study on determinants , 2001, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[8]  F. Diderichsen,et al.  Physical, psychosocial, and organisational factors relative to sickness absence: a study based on Sweden Post , 2001, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[9]  B. Aust,et al.  Clinical and non-clinical depressive symptoms and risk of long-term sickness absence among female employees in the Danish eldercare sector. , 2011, Journal of affective disorders.

[10]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  The factorial validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory‐General Survey (MBI‐GS) across occupational groups and nations , 2000 .

[11]  J. Lönnqvist,et al.  Occupational burnout and medically certified sickness absence: a population-based study of Finnish employees. , 2008, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[12]  P. Allebeck,et al.  Chapter 5. Risk factors for sick leave - general studies , 2004, Scandinavian journal of public health. Supplement.

[13]  Jiang He,et al.  Mortality prediction with a single general self-rated health question , 2006, Journal of General Internal Medicine.

[14]  J. Salonen,et al.  Perceived health status and morbidity and mortality: evidence from the Kuopio ischaemic heart disease risk factor study. , 1996, International journal of epidemiology.

[15]  Murray D. Smith,et al.  Structural Equation Modeling: Concepts, Issues, and Applications , 1996 .

[16]  S. Stansfeld,et al.  Psychosocial work environment and mental health--a meta-analytic review. , 2006, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[17]  Anneli Ojajärvi,et al.  Burnout as a Predictor of Medically Certified Sick-Leave Absences and Their Diagnosed Causes , 2005, Behavioral medicine.

[18]  M. Sullivan,et al.  The Swedish SF-36 Health Survey III. Evaluation of criterion-based validity: results from normative population. , 1998, Journal of clinical epidemiology.

[19]  C. Maslach.  Job Burnout , 2003 .

[20]  Åke Nygren,et al.  Work characteristics and sickness absence in burnout and nonburnout groups: A study of Swedish health care workers. , 2008 .

[21]  J. Lisspers,et al.  Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD): some psychometric data for a Swedish sample , 1997, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[22]  増田 真也,et al.  バーンアウト測定尺度 Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey(MBI-GS)の概要と日本版について , 2011 .

[23]  Arie Shirom,et al.  Burnout and risk of cardiovascular disease: evidence, possible causal paths, and promising research directions. , 2006, Psychological bulletin.

[24]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  The Burnout Companion to Study and Practice: A Critical Analysis , 1998 .

[25]  JianLi Wang.  Work stress as a risk factor for major depressive episode(s) , 2004, Psychological Medicine.

[26]  C. Bildt,et al.  Predicting Sickness Absence—Are Extended Health Check-ups of Any Value? Comparisons of Three Individual Risk Models , 2009, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[27]  R. Kessler,et al.  Prevalence, correlates, and course of minor depression and major depression in the National Comorbidity Survey. , 1997, Journal of affective disorders.

[28]  C. L. Cooper,et al.  Handbook of Work and Health Psychology , 2003 .

[29]  Julie H. Goldberg,et al.  Prevention of burnout: New perspectives , 1998 .

[30]  B. McEwen.  Allostasis and Allostatic Load: Implications for Neuropsychopharmacology , 2000, Neuropsychopharmacology.

[31]  Arie Shirom,et al.  Job-related burnout: A review. , 2003 .

[32]  A. Bakker,et al.  The job demands-resources model of burnout. , 2001, The Journal of applied psychology.

[33]  B. Druss,et al.  Depressive symptoms, satisfaction with health care, and 2-year work outcomes in an employed population. , 2001, The American journal of psychiatry.

[34]  B M Slaney,et al.  Healthy at work? , 1970, Nursing times.

[35]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  Validation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey: An Internet Study , 2002 .

[36]  Lois E. Tetrick,et al.  Handbook of occupational health psychology , 2003 .

[37]  H. Burr,et al.  Depressive symptoms and the risk of long-term sickness absence: a prospective study among 4747 employees in Denmark. , 2006, Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology.

[38]  J. Halbesleben,et al.  The construct validity of an alternative measure of burnout: Investigating the English translation of the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory , 2005 .

[39]  Wilmar B. Schaufeli,et al.  Job Demands and Job Resources as Predictors of Absence Duration and Frequency. , 2003 .

[40]  T. T. Haug,et al.  The validity of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. An updated literature review. , 2002, Journal of psychosomatic research.

[41]  M. Åsberg,et al.  Burnout and physical and mental health among Swedish healthcare workers. , 2008, Journal of advanced nursing.

[42]  Phil Wood.  Confirmatory Factor Analysis for Applied Research , 2008 .

[43]  M. Åsberg,et al.  Psychometric properties of scales in the General Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPS): confirmatory factor analysis and prediction of certified long-term sickness absence. , 2009, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[44]  Y. Benyamini,et al.  Self-rated health and mortality: a review of twenty-seven community studies. , 1997, Journal of health and social behavior.

[45]  Ron Z. Goetzel,et al.  Health, Absence, Disability, and Presenteeism Cost Estimates of Certain Physical and Mental Health Conditions Affecting U.S. Employers , 2004, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[46]  Fotios Anagnostopoulos,et al.  Job Burnout, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Sickness Absence in Greek Health Professionals , 2010 .

[47]  D. Bernier.  A study of coping : successful recovery from severe burnout and other reactions to severe work-related stress , 1998 .