EPA-1148 – Does Anxiety Predict Burnout? a 5575-participant Study

Abstract

Introduction:

Burnout is usually viewed as a combination of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. The link between burnout and anxiety is not well understood.

Objectives:

We examined the extent to which history of anxiety disorders (HAD) and current anxiety symptoms (CAS) predict burnout.

Methods:

The present study included 5575 French teachers (mean age: 41; mean job tenure: 15 years). The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Participants indicated whether they had ever been diagnosed for an anxiety disorder by a health expert and self-reported their CAS by using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale. A multiple regression analysis was carried out with HAD, CAS, age, and job tenure as predictors.

Results:

CAS predicted both emotional exhaustion (β = 0.67; 95% CI: 0.65-0.69), depersonalization (β = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.33-0.39), and reduced personal accomplishment (β = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.23-0.28), all ps < .0001. HAD only predicted emotional exhaustion (β = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.01-0.05), p < .01, and reduced personal accomplishment (β = 0.03; 95% CI: 0.00-0.06), p < .05. Age and job tenure did not predict burnout. The tested model accounted for about 46% of the variance in emotional exhaustion, 13% of the variance in depersonalization, and 7% of the variance in reduced personal accomplishment.

Conclusions:

CAS predicted all dimensions of burnout, particularly the emotional exhaustion dimension. Although HAD may be a risk factor for burnout, its importance seems much more limited.