Occupational burnout and chronic fatigue in the work of academic teachers–moderating role of selected health behaviours

Abstract

Increasing and changing demands for academic teachers worldwide are leading to different consequences, some of which are negative, such as physical and mental health impairment. With the job demands-resources model and the transactional model of occupational stress adopted as a theoretical framework, a cross-sectional study among Polish academic teachers was conducted. The aim of the study is to identify the role of vital personal resources understood as selected health-promoting behaviours, such as (1) stress-coping strategies, (2) sleep hygiene, and (3) using annual vacation leave, in the process of the regeneration. In a cross-sectional survey, the following variables have been assessed: 1) work-related stress using the Psychosocial Risk Scale, 2) occupational burnout using the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI), 3) chronic fatigue using the Polish adaptation of the Checklist Individual Strength (CIS), and selected health behaviours of academic teachers 4) stress-coping strategies with the help of the Polish version of Mini-COPE and 5) rest: the amount of sleep and vacation days devoted to rest using a short questionnaire designed by the authors. The sample (N = 340) was comprised of academic teachers employed at Polish higher education institutions who have experienced changes in the work environment in recent years. We conducted a multiple regression analysis to determine the relationships among stress, burnout, and chronic fatigue, looking at coping strategies and rest as a moderator. The results indicate that there is a strong relationship between stress resulting from an excessively demanding work environment on the one hand and occupational burnout and chronic fatigue on the other. At the same time, selected health behaviours of academic teachers only slightly moderate the analyzed relationship. Avoidance strategies strengthen the relationship between stress and its negative consequences, while rest and—to a limited extent—the amount of sleep only slightly contribute to weakening the analyzed relationship.