Most people do not attribute their burnout symptoms to work

Abstract

A prevailing belief among researchers is that burnout is a work-specific syndrome induced by intractable job stress. The validity of this belief, however, remains unclear. This cross-sectional study compared burnout with two general conditions, nonspecific psychological distress (NSPD) and exhaustion, in terms of (a) causal attributions to work and (b) associations with 11 job variables (e.g., job satisfaction). The study involved 813 individuals employed in Norway (70.5 % female). Burnout was assessed with the Burnout Assessment Tool; NSPD, with the K6; and exhaustion, with the Karolinska Exhaustion Disorder Scale. Results showed that only 27.7 % of participants with burnout symptoms attributed these symptoms to work. The proportions of individuals ascribing their symptoms to work were similar for NSPD (26.9 %) and exhaustion (27.5 %). The higher one's burnout score, the higher the likelihood of attributing one's burnout, NSPD, and exhaustion symptoms to work. Overall, burnout shared more variance with job variables than did NSPD and exhaustion. Coworker support, job security, and job autonomy constituted notable exceptions. In multiple regression analyses, seven of the 11 job variables predicted NSPD; five predicted burnout and exhaustion. An a posteriori analysis of a nationally balanced quota sample of 591 U.S. employees (48.2 % female) replicated our main finding—only 35.9 % of participants attributed their burnout symptoms to work. This study invites stakeholders to exercise more caution when making etiological inferences about burnout. Assuming that symptoms experienced at work are necessarily caused by work may hinder our ability to mitigate these symptoms. Our findings further question work-centric views of burnout.