Safety and Health at Work

Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (산업안전보건연구원)
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Burnout and Long-term Sickness Absence From the Teaching Function: A Cohort Study

  • Salvagioni, Denise A.J. (Department of Nursing, Instituto Federal Do Parana) ;
  • Mesas, Arthur E. (Health and Social Research Centre, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha) ;
  • Melanda, Francine N. (Department of Public Health, Universidade Federal Do Mato Grosso) ;
  • Gonzalez, Alberto D. (Department of Public Health, Universidade Estadual de Londrina) ;
  • de Andrade, Selma M. (Department of Public Health, Universidade Estadual de Londrina)
  • Received : 2021.04.09
  • Accepted : 2022.01.18
  • Published : 2022.06.30
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Abstract

Background: The present objective was to verify whether burnout (emotional exhaustion [EE], depersonalization [DP] and low professional efficacy [PE]) is a risk factor for long-term sickness absence (LTSA; 30 consecutive days) from the teaching role. Methods: This was a prospective cohort study with two years of follow-up that investigated 509 elementary and high-school teachers. Burnout was identified by Maslach Burnout Inventory. Poisson regression with robust variance was used to adjust for possible confounders. Results: The incidence of LTSA was 9.4%. High EE levels were associated with LTSA in the crude analysis, but the association lost statistical significance after adjustments (for sex, age, perception of work-life balance, general self-rated health, chronic pain and depression). High DP levels were associated with this outcome, even after all adjustments (relative risk = 1.80; 95% confidence interval: 1.05-3.09). Low PE levels were not related to LTSA. Conclusion: The results reinforce the need to improve teachers' work conditions to reduce burnout, particularly DP, and its consequences.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was financed in part by the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001; and by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico - National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil (CNPq) - research productivity scholarship - process number 310259/2015-0.

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