[Study on the relationship between shift work, occupational burnout and sleep quality among employees in a certain...

Objective: To analyze the relationship between shift work, occupational burnout and sleep quality among employees in a certain power enterprise. Methods: From November 2024 to February 2025, a cluster sampling method was used to select frontline workers from a certain power enterprise in Fuzhou City as the study subjects. A total of 712 individuals were surveyed. Self-designed questionnaires, the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory (CMBI), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were employed to collect information on shift work patterns, occupational burnout, and sleep quality among the study subjects. With 647 questionnaires returned, of which 602 were valid, yielding an effective response rate of 93.0%. Spearman correlation analysis was used to examine the relationships between variables. Logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the associations between shift work, occupational burnout, and sleep quality. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was constructed with occupational burnout as a mediating variable to analyze the relationships and effects among shift work, occupational burnout, and sleep quality. Results: Among the 602 frontline workers, 44.5% (268/602) were engaged in shift work, 34.2% (206/602) had sleep disturbance, with a median PSQI global score of 5.0 (3.0, 8.0) points. The prevalence of occupational burnout was 66.4% (400/602). Shift work was positively correlated with occupational burnout (r(s)=0.18, P<0.001) and PSQI globol score (r(s)=0.19, P<0.001), occupational burnout was positively correlated with PSQI globol score (r(s)=0.57, P<0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders, including age, educational level, and alcohol consumption, shift work (OR=2.31, 95%CI: 1.61-3.31) and occupational burnout (OR=4.54, 95%CI: 3.32-6.22) remained significant risk factors for sleep disturbance (P<0.001). The final SEM demonstrated good fit: chi-square degree of freedom (χ(2)/df) =2.44, goodness of fix index (GFI) =0.97, adjusted goodness of fit index (AGFI) =0.95, and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) =0.05, all meeting the recommended criteria. Shift work had a direct effect on sleep quality (P=0.019) and also exerted an indirect effect on sleep quality through occupational burnout (P=0.001). The standardized path coefficients for the indirect, direct, and total effects of shift work on sleep quality were 0.08, 0.09, and 0.17, respectively (P=0.001, 0.019, 0.001), while the standardized path coefficient for occupational burnout to sleep quality was 0.57 (P<0.001). Occupational burnout played a partial mediating role in the relationship between shift work and sleep quality, accounting for 47.05% of the total effect. Conclusion: Shift work is associated with poorer sleep quality among power enterprise workers, with occupational burnout playing a partial mediating role in this relationship.