Burnout in Relation to Age in the Adult Working Population

• Published in: Journal of Occupational Health Vol. 50; no. 4; pp. 362 - 365
• Main Authors: Ahola, Kirsi, Honkonen, Teija, Virtanen, Marianna, Aromaa, Arpo, Lönnqvist, Jouko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia JAPAN SOCIETY FOR OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH 01.07.2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Burnout; Burnout, Professional - epidemiology; Female; Finland - epidemiology; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Middle Aged; Working population; Finland
• ISSN: 1341-9145; 1348-9585; 1348-9585
• DOI: 10.1539/joh.m8002

Burnout is a three-dimensional syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism, and diminished professional efficacy which can result from a combination of prolonged work stress and dysfunctional ways of coping1,2). Burnout has both individual and organizational relevance since it has been shown to be associated with physical and mental ill health3,4)and to predict work disability as indicated by medically certified sickness absences5). In reviews, which have concerned mostly human service work, burnout has been reported to decrease with age2,6), whereas population studies on burnout have found the opposite. In two nationally representative Finnish samples7,8), which excluded the youngest adults, a positive association emerged between age and the level of burnout. Also, among the working population of one Swedish county, a high level of burnout was more common among aging workers than among middle aged workers, but not among young workers, suggesting a non-linear association between age and burnout9). Other sociodemographic associations of burnout have been shown to differ between the sexes8). The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between age and burnout by sex in three different age groups, namely among young, middle-aged, and aging workers in a nationally representative sample of employees including the full age range of the adult working population in Finland.