Burnout, depressive symptoms, job demands and satisfaction with life: discriminant validity and explained variance

Abstract

Burnout is considered an occupational health concern. The burnout–depression overlap is an important area of research as the foundations of burnout and its diagnostic value have come under increasing scrutiny, calling for burnout to not be classified as an independent disorder but rather as a subtype of depression. Furthermore, as burnout is defined as a work-specific syndrome, workplace factors have been argued to be the major indicators of burnout. Recent research however, calls this into question. This study seeks to establish the overlap between burnout and depressive symptoms and to determine if burnout is in fact a multi-domain phenomenon. A cross-sectional research design was used, a convenience sample of educators from the Gauteng province of South Africa was collected (N = 399). Confirmatory factor analysis was applied in a structural equation modelling framework. Discriminant validity analysis was conducted by investigating the average variance extracted and the shared variance between constructs. Finally, relative weight analysis was conducted to ascertain the unique contribution explained by the work-specific and general life domain factors. Results showed that burnout could be distinguished from depressive symptoms. Job demands, depressive symptoms, and satisfaction with life all explained significant amounts of variance in the burnout construct. Relative weight analysis revealed that emotional load and depressive symptoms explained equal amounts of variance in burnout, but that the aggregated work-specific factors explained the most variance in burnout. This study indicates that burnout is a multi-domain phenomenon and not isolated to the domain of work. Further research is needed in this regard.

Exploring demands from the perspective of employees identified as being at risk of burnout

“…Various studies have examined the relationship between burnout and depression and have yielded mixed results on whether burnout should be viewed as a distinct phenomenon or as a symptom of depression (Bianchi et al, 2015; Thuysma & De Beer, 2016). Burnout has been reported to predict depressive symptoms, and Thuynsma and De Beer (2016) found that depressive symptoms (together with job demands and satisfaction with life) explained significant amounts of variance in the burnout construct. A study by De Beer, Pienaar, and Rothmann (2014) also found a positive relationship between burnout and self-reported treatment for health conditions, with the relationship with treatment for depression being the strongest.…”

“…The relationship between burnout and depression is frequently explored in the literature (Bianchi, Schonfeld, & Laurent, 2015); burnout has been reported to predict depressive symptoms (Ahola, 2007) and life dissatisfaction. Thuynsma and De Beer (2016) also found depressive symptoms and satisfaction with life (together with job demands) to explain significant amounts of variance in the burnout construct. Burnout has been demonstrated to also lead to poor physical health, including sleep disturbances, headaches, respiratory infections, and gastrointestinal infections (Kim, Ji, & Kao, 2011), as well as musculoskeletal problems (Armon, Melamed, Shirom, & Shapira, 2010).…”

Burnout mediates the association between depression and patient safety perceptions: a cross‐sectional study in hospital nurses

“…Depression is a broader concept which is statistically and conceptually distinct from burnout (Iacovides et al, 2003, Thuynsma andde Beer, 2016). Rather than focusing on workrelated attitudes, the concept of depression encompasses a more holistic sense of low mood and psychological distress (Henry and Crawford, 2005).…”

“…Several studies indicate that burnout may also be linked with clinical errors (Hall et al 2016), although the majority of this research has been amongst doctors. Depression is a broader concept which is statistically and conceptually distinct from burnout (Iacovides et al 2003, Thuynsma & De Beer 2016. Rather than focusing on work-related attitudes, the concept of depression encompasses a more holistic sense of low mood and psychological distress (Henry & Crawford 2005).…”

Investigating the Relationship between Workload-Resources and Exhaustion of Nurses and Police Officers in Namibia

“…Zhang et al, (2016) stated that the work-family conflict is a challenge for nurses and could lead to depression, an anxious state and poor health. Furthermore, Thuynsma and de Beer (2016) found that depressive symptoms and emotional load account for some variance in burnout. Considering the work that police officers and nurses do, they are exposed to emotionally straining encounters which impact on their burnout levels.…”