Reducing workplace burnout: the relative benefits of ...

1 Submitted15 December 2014 Accepted22 March 2015 Published9 April 2015 Corresponding authorEinar Baldvin editorDorota FrydeckaAdditional Information andDeclarations can be found onpage Bretland and ThorsteinssonDistributed underCreative Commons CC-BY ACCESSR educing workplace burnout : the relativebenefits of cardiovascular and resistanceexerciseRachel Judith Bretland and Einar Baldvin ThorsteinssonDepartment of Psychology, School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences,University of New England, global burden of burnout cost is in excess of $300 billion , just under half of working Australians experience high levels of occupationalburnout.

2 Consequently, burnout interventions are paramount to organisationalproductivity. Exercise has the potential to provide a multilevel and cost effectiveburnout intervention. The current study aims to extend the literature by comparingcardiovascular with resistance exercise to assess their relative effectiveness againstwell-being, perceived stress, and were 49 (36 females and 13 males) previously inactive volun-teers ranging in age from 19 to 68 that completed a four week exercise program ofeither cardiovascular, resistance, or no exercise (control). Randomised control trialdesign was were measured against the Subjective Exercise ExperienceScale, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Maslach burnout four weeks of exercise participants had greater positive well-being andpersonal accomplishment, and concomitantly less psychological distress, perceivedstress, and emotional exhaustion.

3 Cardiovascular exercise was found to increasewell-being and decrease psychological distress, perceived stress, and emotionalexhaustion. Resistance training was noticeably effective in increasing well-beingand personal accomplishment and to reduce perceived stress. The present findingsrevealed large effect sizes suggesting that exercise may be an effective treatment forburnout. However, given a small sample size further research needs to be has potential to be an effective burnout intervention. Differenttypes of exercise may assist employees in different ways. Organisations wishing toproactively reduce burnout can do so by encouraging their employees to accessregular exercise and PsychologyKeywordsExercise, Cardiovascular, burnout , Perceived stress, ResistanceBACKGROUND: burnout , PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS,AND MULTILEVEL INTERVENTIONSIn a study covering America, Asia and the Middle East,Golembiewski et al.

4 (1998)foundthat 60% of public sector and 40% of private sector employees reported high levels ofburnout. burnout is understood to be a chronic state of job stress, where employerexpectations and employee workload exceed the individual s perceived psychologicalHow to cite this articleBretland and Thorsteinsson (2015), Reducing workplace burnout : the relative benefits of cardiovascular andresistance 3:e891;DOI and ability to cope with the work demands expected of them (Maslach, Schaufeli& Leiter, 2001;Mutkins, Brown & Thorsteinsson, 2011). The global burden of burnoutthrough decreased productivity, retention, absenteeism, and compensation costs in excessof $300 billion annually (Rowe, 2012), as such the World Health Organisation is predictedto report burnout as a global pandemic within the next decade (Nash, 2013).

5 Psychological stress describes an interaction between an individual, their workenvironment, and other external influences (Malone et al., 1997). Psychological stress isunderstood to occur when there is a substantialperceivedimbalance between demandsplaced on the individual, and perceived response capability, and is aggravated in situationswhere failure to meet the demand has perceived adverse consequences (Malone etal., 1997;Thorsteinsson, Brown & Richards, 2014). Effective coping is then measuredbased on emotional reactions and cognitive functioning in response to the stressor,in a fluid process dependent on evolving work demands and a fluctuating personaloutlook (Lazarus, 2000;Malone et al.)

6 , 1997).Lazarus (2000)articulates that this is acognitive-motivational-relational theoretical concept ofappraisalbased on individualdifferences (both intra- and inter-individual), whereby an individual constructs relationalmeaning from the person-environment relationship, social and physical influences,personal goals, self-belief, and available resources and subsequently makes an assessmentof ability to cope based on his or her perceptions of demand compared to psychological stress, was first termedburnoutin 1975 (Maslach & Jackson,1981). burnout can be described as prolonged exposure to occupational pressureincluding emotional and interpersonal stressors (Maslach, 2003).

7 burnout comprises threecentral components: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and (lack of ) personalaccomplishment (Maslach & Jackson, 1981;Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001). Of thethree, emotional exhaustion is the most noticeable and often the primary symptom(Golembiewski et al., 1998;Meesters & Waslander, 2010). Emotional exhaustion can alsobe viewed as depletion of an individual s emotional resources, typically characterised bystatements such as I feel emotionally drained from my work, and used up at the end of theworkday (Childs & Stoeber, 2012;Maslach & Jackson, 1981). It is proposed that emotionalexhaustion underpins burnout and through the coping mechanisms employed by theemotionally exhausted individual, the other burnout elements depersonalization andreduced personal accomplishment arise (Harwood et al.)

8 , 2010;Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter,2001). Depersonalization can be seen as a detachment barrier, where the emotionallyexhausted employee introduces emotional and cognitive distance between them and theirsituation in an attempt to cope with their workload (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993). Thisshields the individual from emotional strain but results in a dehumanized perceptionof others. This is often accompanied by cold disregard for the needs of clients andcallous indifference towards clients feelings (Maslach, 1986, p. 4). Continuation in thedepersonalized state leads to a callous and cynical outlook and generalised indifference tothe organisation (Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001).

9 As emotional exhaustion and depersonalization progress, the burnt out individual feelsguilt and inadequacy about their emotional limitations which leads to a reduced sense ofBretland and Thorsteinsson (2015),PeerJ, DOI accomplishment (Maslach, 1986). An individual s perception of their ability toexcel and perform worthwhile tasks is diminished and they no longer feel of value to theorganisation (Golembiewski et al., 1998;Maslach, Schaufeli & Leiter, 2001).AsMaslach (2011)highlights, there has been a high degree of interest in interventionstargeting burnout , and these may occur either on an individual or organisationallevel, sometimes referred to asmicroandmacroapproaches, respectively.

10 Individualinterventions often involve removal of the burnt out individual from the workplace andcan be effective in Reducing emotional exhaustion, but tend to leave the interpersonaland occupational elements of depersonalization and personal accomplishment unaltered(Maslach, 2003). As noted byHalbesleben, Osburn & Mumford (2006)individual programsdo little to change the workplace environmental stressors, therefore not addressing theunderlying cause of burnout , subsequently proving to be ineffective overall. By contrast,departmental occupational based interventions can be applied through managers todepartments or workplaces as a group (Maslach, 2003).