Systematic review: Factors associated with return to work in burnout
R Kärkkäinen1, T Saaranen2, S Hiltunen2
1School of Medicine, Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, PO Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland.
Occupational Medicine (Oxford, England)
|September 14, 2017
Summary
Returning to work after burnout is influenced by factors like communication and sleep. Understanding these facilitators and barriers is crucial for occupational health care (OHC) policies. Further research is needed to develop supportive actions.
Area of Science:
- Occupational Health
- Psychology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Professional burnout is a significant predictor of absenteeism and workforce withdrawal.
- Limited understanding exists regarding the barriers and facilitators influencing return to work (RTW) for individuals experiencing burnout.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors associated with RTW in burned-out individuals.
- To inform occupational health care (OHC) policies related to RTW for burnout.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of peer-reviewed quantitative and mixed-method studies (2005-2016).
- Included studies measuring burnout with validated instruments and RTW or sick leave as outcomes.
- Excluded studies with heterogeneous samples lacking subgroup analysis for burnout cases.
Main Results:
- Work-related factors: enhanced communication (positive), low work control (negative).
- Individual factors: male gender (positive), covert coping (negative), high work over-commitment (positive).
- Burnout-related factors: unimpaired sleep (positive), long sick leave (>6 months) (negative), part-time sick leave (positive).
Conclusions:
- Current evidence on RTW factors in burnout is based on a limited number of varied-quality studies.
- Further research is essential to establish a robust evidence base.
- Development of guidelines for supportive OHC actions is needed.
Keywords:
Interventionoccupational healthoccupational stressprofessional burnoutreturn to worksick leaveMore Related Videos
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