Burnout syndrome in Europe: towards a harmonized approach in occupational health practice and research

Abstract

Health practitioners and decision makers in the medical and insurance systems need knowledge on the work-relatedness of burnout. To gather the most reliable information regarding burnout diagnosis and recognition in Europe, we used an 8-item standard questionnaire sent by e-mail to occupational health specialists identified via the Network on the Coordination and Harmonization of European Occupational Cohorts (OMEGA-NET) within the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action. Participation rate was 100%, and the questionnaire was completed for 37 countries. In 14 (38%) countries burnout syndrome can be acknowledged as an occupational disease. However, only one country included burnout on the list of occupational diseases. The results showed a high variability in burnout diagnosis, in assessment of its work-relatedness, and in conditions allowing compensation of patients. These results reflect a lack of graded evidence on burnout and its determinants. The ongoing research on burnout conducted in the frame of the OMEGA-NET COST Action should be helpful through facilitating standardization of both existing and new data on burnout, a priority outcome requiring harmonization.

Harmonized definition of occupational burnout: A systematic review, semantic analysis, and Delphi consensus in 29 countries

“…If accepted more generally, this definition may reduce the semantic chaos surrounding the concept of occupational burnout and improve medical research, treatment and prevention of this outcome. It may also clarify whether burnout should be classified as a disease (6,46). In SNOMED-CT, 'burnout' is classified under the clinical finding hierarchy, which only includes concepts that refer to diagnoses.…”

“…The latter method was implemented through the national focal points of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) (22) and OMEGA-NET members, who we asked to identify at least one health practitioner in each of the 33 OMEGA-NET participating countries (16). We used this approach previously (6) and found it effective. The working language was English.…”

“…This state of affairs has precluded a reliable estimation of its incidence and prevalence and has negatively affected the quality of research on this outcome. In the context of increasing burnout complaints (2)(3)(4)(5) and recognition of incapacity for work due to mental ill-health (6), the need for a harmonized definition of this concept seems urgent.…”

Study for the Design of a Protocol to Assess the Impact of Stress in the Quality of Life of Workers

“…Several studies have reported that work-related stress is a trigger for mental disorders (specifically depression [ 14 , 20 , 21 ], sleep disorders [ 22 , 23 ], heart and/or respiratory diseases, and physical or cognitive fatigue [ 24 , 25 ]. Moreover, if work-related stress is prolonged and worsened over time, it can lead to burnout in the worker [ 26 , 27 ]. Burnout was defined by Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter as “a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors at work, defined by the dimensions of exhaustion and inefficiency” [ 28 ].…”

Validation of questionnaires and rating scales used in medicine: Protocol for a systematic review of burnout self-reported measures

“…In order to remedy this situation, we have established a general reference framework for the validation process of diagnostic tools for mental disorders, including self-reported measures of burnout. The burnout syndrome remains ill-defined and nosologically uncharacterized (15). Despite its increasing importance (16), burnout syndrome still has no consensual definition, which makes it difficult to manage.…”