DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH MEDICINE

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ACADEMIC PROGRAMME: JOURNAL CLUB

2022

Workload, Burnout, Emotional States, and job performance of Government Employees: An Exploratory Investigation From The Third Wave of COVID-19

Authors: N.D Mohd Mahudin, N.I.A Zaabar

nordianamm@iium.edu.my

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Presenter: Dr Veronica Mhlanga (WITS MBBCh)

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12/04/2022

INTRODUCTION

According to the WHO burnout is characterized by:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job
• reduced professional efficacy

As a result of chronic work-place stress

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CAUSES OF BURNOUT

Individual factors

• Personality
• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Values

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Situational

• Job demands
• Role demands
• Resource scarcity
• Level of social support

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JOB DEMANDS-RESOURCES

• Job demands

Job resources

Workload

Shift work

Time pressure

Hours at work

Job security

Support

Autonomy

Feedback

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Exhaustion

ErE

Burnout

Reduced work engagement

Cynicism

BURNOUT

Burnout is not considered a medical diagnosis

Burnout is associated with psychological consequences and an increased risk of chronic diseases

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AIM OF STUDY

• To offer empirical evidence of workload as a predictor of burn, job outcomes and emotional states.
• To highlight the effects of covid-19 lockdowns on the mental health of government employees as the study takes place in Malaysia during their third wave of Covid-19.

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METHOD AND MATERIALS

• Cross-sectional study
• Participants were recruited using snowball sampling through the researchers’ contacts
• Inclusion criteria: current government worker
• Exclusion criteria: younger than 60
• Online survey was answered by the 118 participants [female=83; male=35], between the period of November 2020 and December 2020.

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SURVEY

• 1. Workload- NASA Task Load Index
• 2. Burnout-Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)
• Personal burnout 
• Work-related burnout
• Client-related burnout

3. Emotional state- Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21)

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress

4. Perceived job performance- Job Performance Scale (JPS)

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RESULTS

Burnout

• Personal burnout-  47,4% moderate to high; 1,7% severe
• Client-related burnout- 44,1% moderate to severe; 1,7% severe
• Work-related burnout-31.4% moderate to severe

Emotional state

• Stress levels- 30.5% moderate to extremely severe
• Anxiety levels-40.7% moderate to extremely severe
• Depression-33.9% moderate to extremely severe

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RESULTS

• Participants also experienced high workload according to scores
• Participants perceived  their job performance as high
• Workload was significantly corelated with depression, anxiety, stress and work related burnout (p=0.001)

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DISCUSSION

• The findings of the study provided empirical support to exist literature by demonstrating that high workload is related to negative emotional states and burnout. 
• A large proportion (44.1) of the participants were teachers or lectures, as a result it was not possible to do across job category comparison. 
• The data was however able to demonstrate high levels of moderate to extremely severe depression(30.8%0), anxiety(36,5%) and stress (25%) symptoms in the teacher/lecturer subgroup.
• Participants reported high job performance despite high burnout and negative emotional state.

CONCLUSION

• Burnout is one of the factors that influence burnout and emotional sates
• To optimise job performance and employees' mental health and overall wellbeing is is important to manage job demands such as workload and maximise job resources to mitigate the job demands present.

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Occupational Health Journal Club 12 April 2022

Thank You