[Emotional exhaustion common among women in the public sector]

This cross-sectional investigation aimed at assessing levels of emotional exhaustion among female employees within the Swedish public sector. Other aims were to study the associations between self-rated emotional exhaustion and psychosocial factors at work, as well as findings from medical examinations. Data was collected by means of questionnaires including the Maslach Burnout Inventory, among 183 women working in geriatric care and 143 employees at the National Social Insurance Office. We found high proportions of emotional exhaustion in both samples (geriatric care = 34%; Social Insurance Office = 26%). Participants with high scores for emotional exhaustion reported more job-strain, less social support at work and more somatic, emotional and cognitive complaints than those with low or intermediate scores. Medical examinations performed on 19 participants with low scores and 41 with high scores for emotional exhaustion revealed significantly more findings among participants with high emotional exhaustion, particularly fatigue, sleep disturbances and cognitive impairment. There were no group differences in terms of depression or other findings. This study shows that individuals at risk for stress-related disorders may be identified using simple questionnaires. Early interventions for stress in the workplace may prevent incapacitating conditions among a great proportion of women working in the public sector.