We want to extend the concept of job burnout with regard to its multifaceted nature. Job burnout is caused by work, particularly the relationship between job demands and resources (Bakker & Demerouti, 2014). However, job-related well-being also has bright sides, such as work engagement and job satisfaction. Connecting job burnout with other positive well-being indicators can help clarify how we understand the mechanisms of occupational stress and work motivation.

We believe a new conceptualization of job burnout is needed, since the labour market is changing completely. Some traditional risk factors of job burnout well known in the twentieth century (emotional requirements, workload) have changed. More and more employees suffer from cognitive overload (due to the expansion of digitalization) and excessive illegitimate tasks (due to increased bureaucratization) (Hakanen & Bakker, 2016; Semmer et al., 2015), and many experience mental fatigue as a result. In addition, findings from the European Working Conditions Survey (Eurofound, 2016) show that job burnout adversely affects not only individuals (e.g. health impairment), but also organizations (e.g. cost of absenteeism) and society (e.g. work incapacity).

Contemporary knowledge about job burnout is still insufficient. Most previous studies were conducted using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; Maslach & Jackson, 1981), which has some limitations: a lack of theoretical framework, omission of mental fatigue symptoms, and neglect of the bright side of occupational well-being (work engagement and job satisfaction).

Drawing on Job Demands–Resources theory, we can extend our view of new job demands — cognitive overload and illegitimate tasks. We also add new facets of job burnout related to cognitive difficulties and psychosomatic ailments that lead employees to seek help (Schaufeli, Desart, & De Witte, 2017). We share the view that a burned-out employee can, at the same time, be engaged and satisfied with their work (Mäkikangas et al., 2016; Schaufeli & De Witte, 2017) — meaning there are varying profiles of job-related well-being, and different mechanisms of occupational stress and motivation. Such studies, however, have rarely been carried out.

Our research will involve an online study conducted twice within a one-year lag, among different occupations exposed to excessive organizational demands. We will invite individuals working in healthcare, education, public administration, and new technologies (ICT). This will let us predict changes in job burnout with regard to various profiles of occupational well-being, as a response to job demands and resources.

We will carry out statistical analyses on multiple levels: between occupations (4 groups), between individuals (800 employees), and taking into account the dynamics of time (2 waves, 1,600 measurements).

First, we want to verify a new conceptualization of job burnout within JD-R theory. Second, we want to examine the differences between occupational groups. Third, we want to evaluate the relationships between job burnout, work engagement, and job satisfaction, which together constitute job-related well-being. This project can contribute to advancing knowledge in occupational health psychology.

Our international collaboration with Prof. Wilmar Schaufeli (Research Group Work, Organizational and Personnel Psychology, KU Leuven, Belgium, and Utrecht University, the Netherlands) — a world-class scientist and expert in burnout research — brings access to outstanding scientific knowledge, the development of an international research partnership network, and the internationalization of Polish science.

Burnout Assessment Tool — Polish version: BAT-23.

January 12, 2022 — Basińska, B., Gruszczyńska, E., & Schaufeli, W. Professional burnout during turbulent times: one-year follow-up study in four occupations. Online BAT symposium at the BAT Consortium.

29 May – 1 June 2019 — Basińska, B., Gruszczyńska, E., & Schaufeli, W. Job demands and performance: the indirect role of job burnout. Oral paper at the 19th European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) Congress, Turin, Italy.

13–14 June 2019 — The Burnout Assessment Tool, 2nd Conference. Institute of Stress Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden.

May 2019 — The Burnout Assessment Tool: first wave of the longitudinal study in four professional groups completed.

March 2019 — The Burnout Assessment Tool: Polish version ready.