Health Education and Health Promotion

Study of Job Burnout and Problems of Shift Workers of a Water & Wastewater Contracting Company in Tehran

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

R. Charkhandaz Yeganeh 1
H. Ebrahimi 2
A. Ehdasi 2
M. Kamrani 3
N. Kurd 1

1 Occupational Health Engineering Department, Health Faculty, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran

2 Occupational Health Engineering Department, Health Faculty, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Occupational Health Engineering Department, Health Faculty, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.29252/HEHP.7.2.77
Abstract
Aims: Shift work is an unusual work pattern compared to day work. It can have adverse effects on human life from various aspects. Effects of shift work on people depend on their job, organizational and social environment, personal traits, and shift work schedule characteristics. The present study aimed at determining the job burnout and problems of shift workers of a water & wastewater contracting company in Tehran.

Instruments & Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted in a water and wastewater contracting company in Tehran in 2015. The subjects of the study were 89 males (51 shift workers and 38 daytime workers). The Survey of Shift workers (SOS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaires were used to assess the shift work-related problems and job burnout, respectively. Finally, the data were analyzed by R software and statistical tests.

Findings: The findings of this study did not show significant difference in the values of job burnout dimensions in both groups (shift workers and daytime workers). Job burnout scores for shift workers group showed that 27.3% in depersonalization and 19.5% in personal accomplishment dimensions were in severe problems category. According to the independent samples t-test, there was a significant difference in sleep hours in both groups (p<0.05). Also, 5.8% of the shift workers and 23.6% of the daytime workers had cardiovascular disorders.

Conclusion: In this study, most of the shift workers were satisfied with their shift work system. It seems that more surveys in this area for the future studies is necessary.

Keywords

Job Burnout
Shift Workers
Water and Wastewater Contracting company
Maslach Burnout Inventory
Survey Of Shift Workers
Subjects
  1. 1. Frank B, Eckrich H, Rohr J. Quality nursing care leadership makes the difference. Journal of nursing Administration. 1997;27(5):13-4.
    2. Eastaugh SR. Hospital nurse productivity. Journal of health care finance. 2001;29(1):14-22.
    3. Steenland K. Shift work, long hours, and cardiovascular disease: A review. Occupat Med. 2000;15(4):7-17.
    4. Ghaedi G, Mohammadi pour rik N, Ghasemi Smh. Comparison of fixed and rotating shifts on burnout among nurses working in public and private hospitals in Rasht. Daneshvar. 2015;22(118):27-34.
    5. Choobineh A. Shiftwork: problems and solutions, By: Monk T, Folkard S. Shiraz. SUMS press; 2005.
    6. Mardi H, Zakerian SA, Jalali M, Abbaszadeh M, Korozhdeh J, Panjali Z. Shift work and its complications: A case study in the security personnel of a refinery complex. Journal of Ergonomics. 2014;2(1):46-53.
    7. Fischer FM. What do petrochemical workers, healthcare workers, and truck drivers have in common? Evaluation of sleep and alertness in Brazilian shiftworkers. Cadernos de SaúdePública. 2004;20(6):1732-8.
    8. Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, et al. Rotating night shifts and risk of breast cancer in women participating in the nurses' health study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2001;93(20):1563-8.
    9. Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, et al. Night-shift work and risk of colorectal cancer in the nurses’ health study. Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2003;95(11):825-8.
    10. Wang X, Armstrong M, Cairns B, Key T, Travis R. Shift work and chronic disease: the epidemiological evidence. Occupational medicine. 2011;61(2):78-89.
    11. Karlsson BH, Knutsson AK, Lindahl BO, Alfredsson LS. Metabolic disturbances in male workers with rotating three-shift work. Results of the WOLF study. International archives of occupational and environmental health. 2003;76(6):424-30.
    12. Machi MS, Staum M, Callaway CW, Moore C, Jeong K, Suyama J, et al. The relationship between shift work, sleep, and cognition in career emergency physicians. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2012;19(1):85-91.
    13. Suwazono Y, Dochi M, Sakata K, Okubo Y, Oishi M, Tanaka K, et al. Shift work is a risk factor for increased blood pressure in Japanese men. Hypertension. 2008;52(3):581-6.
    14. Ha M, Park J. Shiftwork and metabolic risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Journal of occupational health. 2005;47(2):89-95.
    15. Yaggi HK, Concato J, Kernan WN, Lichtman JH, Brass LM, Mohsenin V. Obstructive sleep apnea as a risk factor for stroke and death. New England Journal of Medicine. 2005;353(19):2034-41.
    16. Rutenfranz J, Colquhoun WP, Knauth P, Ghata J. Biomedical and psychosocial aspects of shift work: a review. Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health. 1977:165-82.
    17. Harrington JM. Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work. Occupational and Environmental medicine. 2001;58(1):68-72.
    18. Viswanathan AN, Hankinson SE, Schernhammer ES. Night shift work and the risk of endometrial cancer. Cancer Research. 2007;67(21):10618-22.
    19. Hansen J. Increased breast cancer risk among women who work predominantly at night. Epidemiology. 2001;12(1):74-7.
    20. Choobineh A, Aghabeygi M, Tabatabaei H, Fallahpour A, Javadpour F, Soltanzadeh A. Evaluation of Effectiveness of Shift Schedule Change on Reducing the Shift Work-related Problems in a Petrochemical Industry. Journal of School of Public Health and Institute of Public Health Research. 2013;11(2):39-52.
    21. Åkerstedt T, Fredlund P, Gillberg M, Jansson B. Work load and work hours inrelation to disturbed sleep and fatigue in a large representative sample. Journal of psychosomatic research. 2002;53(1):585-8.
    22. Knutsson A. Health disorders of shift workers. Occupational medicine. 2003;53(2):103-8.
    23. Haider M, Groll-Knapp E, KundiM. Some theoretical viewpoints on combined effects of environmental factors. Archives of Complex Environmental Studies. 1989;1(1):7-13.
    24. Smith L, Folkard S, Tucker P, Macdonald I. Work shift duration: a review comparing eight hour and 12 hour shift systems. Occupational and environmental medicine. 1998;55(4):217-29.
    25. Mahmoodi Gr, Alhani F, Anousheh M, Rouhi G. Burnout Levels and Some Related Factors in Nurses of Golestan Province. Preventive Care In Nursing & Midwifery Journal. 2011;1(1):43-54.
    26. Pruessner JC, Hellhammer DH, Kirschbaum C. Burnout, perceived stress, and cortisol responses to awakening. Psychosomatic medicine. 1999;61(2):197-204.
    27. Levy BS, Wegman DH. Occupational health: recognizing and preventing work-related disease: Little Brown; 1988.
    28. Maslach C, Schaufeli WB, Leiter MP. Job burnout. Annual review of psychology. 2001;52(1):397-422.
    29. Khazaei T, Khazaei T, Sharif zadeh G. Nurses' professional burnout and some predisposing factors. Journal of Birjand University of MedicalSciences. 2006;13(1):9-15.
    30. Habibi E, Dadkhah Tehrani S, Ghareh baei S, Mahaki B. A survey of the relationship between shift work and job burnout in nurse staff of Alzahra hospital application maslach’s burnout questionnaire. 2015. 2015:11.
    31. BartonJ, Folkard S, Smith L, Spelten E, Totterdell P. Standard shiftwork index manual. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2007;60:159-70.
    32. Zamanian Z, Mohammadi H, Rezaeeyani MT, Dehghany M. An investigation of shift work disorders in security personnel of 3 hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 2009. Iran Occupational Health Journal. 2012;9(1):52-7.
    33. Choobineh A, Soltanzadeh A, Tabatabai S, Jahangiri M, Khavvaji S. Comparison of Shift Work-related Health Problems in 12-hour Shift Schedules of Petrochemical Industries. Iran Occupational Health Journal. 2011;7(4):8-0.
    34. Talaei A, Mokhber N, Mohammad–Nejad M, Samari AA. Burnout and its related factors in staffs of university hospitals in Mashhad in 2006. Koomesh. 2008;9(3):237-46.
    35. Nayeri ND, Negarandeh R, Vaismoradi M, Ahmadi F, Faghihzadeh S. Burnout and productivity among Iranian nurses. Nursing & health sciences. 2009;11(3):263-70.
    36. Rasoolian M, Elahi F, Afkham Ebrahimi A. Relation of burnout with individual characteristics in nurses. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2004;9(4):18-24.
    37. Farsi Z, Rajaei N, Habibi H. The relationship between burnout and quality of working life in nurses of AJA hospitals in Tehran. 2. 2015;1(2):63-72.
    38. Kaviani H, Khaghanizade M. The relationship between burnout and mental health among nurses. Tehran University Medical Journal TUMS Publications. 2007;65(6):65-75.
    39. Somayeh B, Mehdi P, Habiballah D. The Relation between Shift Work, Fatigue and Sleepiness and Accidents among Workers in Sugar Factory. Journal of Occupational Health Engineering. 2014;1(3):45-52.
    40. Golabadi M, Dehghan F, Safakhah F, Attarchi MS. Assessment of effect of shift work on blood pressure in workers of a rubber manufacturing company. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences. 2012;18(91):7-14.
    41. Vidaček S, Prizmic Z, Kaliterna L, Radoševic-Vidaček B, Čabrajec-Grbac S, Fornazar-Kneževič B, et al. Shiftwork tolerance and circadian rhythms in oral temperature and heart rate. Work & Stress. 1995;9(2-3):335-41.
  2. Frank B, Eckrich H, Rohr J. Quality nursing care: Leadership makes the difference. J Nurs Adm. 1997;27(5):13-4. [Link] [DOI:10.1097/00005110-199705000-00004]
  3. Eastaugh SR. Hospital nurse productivity. J Health Care Finance. 2002;29(1):14-22. [Link]
  4. Steenland K. Shift work, long hours, and cardiovascular disease: A review. Occupat Med J. 2000;15(4):7-17. [Link]
  5. Ghaedi GH, Mohammadipour Rik N, Ghasemi SMH. Comparison of fixed and rotating shifts on burnout among nurses working in public and private hospitals in Rasht. Daneshvar Med. 2015;22(118):27-35. [Persian] [Link]
  6. Monk TH, Folkard S. Making shiftwork tolerable. Choobineh AR, translator. Shiraz: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences; 2005. [Persian] [Link]
  7. Mardi H, Zakerian SA, Jalali M, Abbaszadeh M, Korozhdeh J, Panjali Z. Shift work and its complications: A case study in the security personnel of a refinery complex. J Ergon. 2014;2(1):46-53. [Link]
  8. Fischer FM. What do petrochemical workers, healthcare workers, and truck drivers have in common? evaluation of sleep and alertness in Brazilian shiftworkers. Cadernos de Saúde Pública. 2004;20(6):1732-8. [Link] [DOI:10.1590/S0102-311X2004000600033]
  9. Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, et al. Rotating night shifts and risk of breast cancer in women participating in the nurses' health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001;93(20):1563-8. [Link] [DOI:10.1093/jnci/93.20.1563]
  10. Schernhammer ES, Laden F, Speizer FE, Willett WC, Hunter DJ, Kawachi I, et al. Night-shift work and risk of colorectal cancer in the nurses' health study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003;95(11):825-8. [Link] [DOI:10.1093/jnci/95.11.825]
  11. Wang XS, Armstrong ME, Cairns BJ, Key TJ, Travis RC. Shift work and chronic disease: The epidemiological evidence. Occup Med (Lond). 2011;61(2):78-89. [Link] [DOI:10.1093/occmed/kqr001]
  12. Karlsson BH, Knutsson AK, Lindahl BO, Alfredsson LS. Metabolic disturbances in male workers with rotating three-shift work, results of the WOLF study. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2003;76(6):424-30. [Link] [DOI:10.1007/s00420-003-0440-y]
  13. Machi MS, Staum M, Callaway CW, Moore C, Jeong K, Suyama J, et al. The relationship between shift work, sleep, and cognition in career emergency physicians. Acad Emerg Med. 2012;19(1):85-91. [Link] [DOI:10.1111/j.1553-2712.2011.01254.x]
  14. Suwazono Y, Dochi M, Sakata K, Okubo Y, Oishi M, Tanaka K, et al. Shift work is a risk factor for increased blood pressure in Japanese men: A 14-year historical cohort study. Hypertension. 2008;52(3):581-6. [Link] [DOI:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.108.114553]
  15. Ha M, Park J. Shiftwork and metabolic risk factors of cardiovascular disease. J Occup Health. 2005;47(2):89-95. [Link] [DOI:10.1539/joh.47.89]
  16. Yaggi HK, Concato J, Kernan WN, Lichtman JH, Brass LM, Mohsenin V. Obstructive sleep apnea as a risk factor for stroke and death. N Engl J Med. 2005;353(19):2034-41. [Link] [DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa043104]
  17. Rutenfranz J, Colquhoun WP, Knauth P, Ghata JN. Biomedical and psychosocial aspects of shift work: A review. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1977;3(4):165-82. [Link] [DOI:10.5271/sjweh.2777]
  18. Harrington J. Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work. Occup Environ Med. 2001;58(1):68-72. [Link] [DOI:10.1136/oem.58.1.68]
  19. Viswanathan AN, Hankinson SE, Schernhammer ES. Night shift work and the risk of endometrial cancer. Cancer Res. 2007;67(21):10618-22. [Link] [DOI:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-07-2485]
  20. Hansen J. Increased breast cancer risk among women who work predominantly at night. Epidemiology. 2001;12(1):74-7. [Link] [DOI:10.1097/00001648-200101000-00013]
  21. Choobineh AR, Aghabeigi M, Tabatabaei SHR, Fallahpour A, Javadpour F, Soltanzadeh A. Effectiveness of shift schedule change on reducing the shift work-related problems in a petrochemical industry in Iran. Sci J Sch Public Health Inst Public Health Res. 2013;11(2):39-52. [Persian] [Link]
  22. Akerstedt T, Fredlund P, Gillberg M, Jansson B. Work load and work hours in relation to disturbed sleep and fatigue in a large representative sample. J Psychosom Res. 2002;53(1):585-8. [Link] [DOI:10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00447-6]
  23. Knutsson A. Health disorders of shift workers. Occup Med (Lond). 2003;53(2):103-8. [Link] [DOI:10.1093/occmed/kqg048]
  24. Haider M, Groll-Knapp E, Kundi M. Some theoretical viewpoints on combined effects of environmental factors. Arch Complex En Stud J. 1989;1(1):7-13. [Link]
  25. Smith L, Folkard S, Tucker P, Macdonald I. Work shift duration: A review comparing eight hour and 12 hour shift systems. Occup Environ Med. 1998;55(4):217-29. [Link] [DOI:10.1136/oem.55.4.217]
  26. Mahmoodi GR, Alhani F, Anousheh M, Rouhi Gh. Burnout levels and some related factors in nurses of Golestan province. Nurs Midwifery Care J. 2011;1(1):43-54. [Persian] [Link]
  27. Pruessner JC, Hellhammer DH, Kirschbaum C. Burnout, perceived stress, and cortisol responses to awakening. Psychosom Med. 1999;61(2):197-204. [Link] [DOI:10.1097/00006842-199903000-00012]
  28. Levy BS, Wegman DH, editors. Occupational health: Recognizing and preventing work-related disease. Boston: Little, Brown; 1988. [Link]
  29. Maslach C, Schaufeli WB, Leiter MP. Job burnout. Annu Rev Psychol. 2001;52:397-422. [Link] [DOI:10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.397]
  30. Khazaei T, Khazaei T, Sharifzadeh GR. Nurses' professional burnout and some predisposing factors. J Birjand Univ Med Sci. 2006;13(1):56-62. [Persian] [Link]
  31. Habibi E, Dadkhah Tehrani S, Gharehbaei S, Mahaki B. A survey of the relationship between shift work and job burnout in nurse staff of Alzahra hospital application maslach's burnout questionnaire. J Health Syst Res. 2015;11(1):641-50. [Persian] [Link]
  32. Barton J, Folkard S, Smith LR, Spelten ER, Totterdell PA. Standard shiftwork index manual. J Appl Psychol. 2007;60:159-70. [Link]
  33. Zamanian Z, Mohammadi H, Rezaeeyani MT, Dehghany M. An investigation of shift work disorders in security personnel of 3 hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 2009. Iran Occup Health J. 2012;9(1):52-7. [Persian] [Link]
  34. Choobineh AR, Soltanzadeh A, Tabatabai SHR, Jahangiri M, Khavvaji S. Comparison of shift work-related health problems in 12-hour shift schedules of petrochemical industries. Iran Occup Health J. 2011;7(4):49-59. [Persian] [Link]
  35. Talaei A, Mokhber N, Mohammadnejad M, Samari AA. Burnout and its related factors in staffs of university hospitals in Mashhad in 2006. Koomesh. 2008;9(3):237-46. [Persian] [Link]
  36. Dehghan Nayeri N, Negarandeh R, Vaismoradi M, Ahmadi F, Faghihzadeh S. Burnout and productivity among Iranian nurses. Nurs Health Sci. 2009;11(3):263-70. [Link] [DOI:10.1111/j.1442-2018.2009.00449.x]
  37. Rasoolian M, Elahi F, Afkham Ebrahimi A. The relationship between job burnout and personality traits in nurses. Iran J Psychiatry Clin Psychol. 2004;9(4):18-24. [Persian] [Link]
  38. Farsi Z, Rajaei N, Habibi H. The relationship between burnout and quality of working life in nurses of AJA hospitals in Tehran. J Mil Caring Sci. 2015;1(2):63-72. [Persian] [Link] [DOI:10.18869/acadpub.mcs.1.2.63]
  39. Abdi Masooleh F, Kaviani H, Khaghanizadeh M, Momeni Araghi A. The relationship between burnout and mental health among nurses. Tehran Univ Med J. 2007;65(6):65-75. [Persian] [Link]
  40. Vidaček S, Prizmic Z, Kaliterna L, Radoševic-Vidaček B, Čabrajec-Grbac S, Fornazar-Kneževič B, et al. Shiftwork tolerance and circadian rhythms in oral temperature and heart rate. Work Stress J. 1995;9(2-3):335-41. [Link] [DOI:10.1080/02678379508256570]
  41. Bolghanabadi S, Pour M, Dehghan H. The relation between shift work, fatigue and sleepiness and accidents among workers in sugar factory. J Occup Hyg Eng. 2014;1(3):45-52. [Persian] [Link]
  42. Golabadi M, Dehghan F, Safakhah F, Attarchi MS. Assessment of effect of shift work on blood pressure in workers of a rubber manufacturing company. Razi J Med Sci. 2012;18(91):7-14. [Persian] [Link]
Health Education and Health Promotion
Volume 7, Issue 2
Spring 2019
Pages 77-82