Link between job strain, burnout and depression

Workers with high levels of job stress have increased risk of burning out, which seems to explain the link between job strain and depression, according to new study findings.

Utilizing specific questionnaires, Kirsi Ahola and colleagues of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, assesses job strain and burnout in a sample of over 3,200 Finnish workers. Those who scored high for cynicism and exhaustion and low for professional effectiveness were considered to have burnout. High job strain was defined as facing high work demands with little control over one’s work. The respondents were also assessed for symptoms of depression.

Twenty-eight percent of workers met the study criteria for burnout. Burnout was more common in older workers, unmarried workers, and those who did manual work. Physical inactivity, high alcohol use, being overweight, and having a physical or mental illness also increased burnout risk.

High levels of stress and strain on the job were present in 23% of respondents, and were the most important risk factor for burnout. After adjusting for other factors, workers with high stress levels on the job were seven times more likely to be “burned out” than those with low job strain.

High job strain was also the strongest risk factor for depression. Workers with high job strain were four times more likely to have depressive symptoms and 70% more likely to score in the “clinically depressed” range.

Adjusting for other factors had little effect on the link between job strain and burnout. In fact, the association between job strain and depression all but disappeared after adjustment for burnout. The researchers said of this outcome, “This suggests that much of the association between job strain and depression is attributable to burnout.”

Burnout and depression were also associated to other categories of job strain: “active work,” consisting of high demands on the job and high control; and “passive work,” with low demands and low control.

The idea of job burnout – defined as “a state of exhaustion combined with doubts about the value of one’s own work and competence” – is still open to debate among occupational health researchers. Previous studies have shown a close relationship between burnout, which is supposedly work-related; and depression, generally regarded as a more pervasive problem. The new study is the first to assess all three factors in a large population representing the full range of occupations simultaneously.

The study can’t prove any cause-and-effect relationship, but the findings suggest that burnout certainly has a relationship with job strain and depression. As well, the outcome would suggest that various types of job strain may contribute to burnout. The researchers hope their results will lead to new opportunities to address work load and other aspects of modern working life that contribute to burnout and depression.

SOURCES: Ahola K, Honkonen T, Virtanen M, Aromaa A, Isometsa E, Kivimaki M, Lonngvist J, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, Helsinki, Finland.

© Copyright 2007 Insight Journal Online Magazine.

Join the Discussion:

Discuss and ask questions in our community forums

Recommended Links:

Sign up for our FREE Health and Wellness Newsletter
Depression in the workplace
Stress in the workplace: A costly epidemic
Insight Journal: Depression
Insight Journal: Stress


View More Articles In Category: Depression News