Burnout: Risk factors

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of factors related to burnout. In terms of environmental risk factors, which are external to the individual, working conditions such as human-computer interaction, involvement with people, daylight, shift work, ambient noise and overcrowding, and job settings such as work overload, lack of control, insufficient reward, lack of fairness, conflicting values, and job insecurity are investigated. Individual risk factors are internal risk factors consisting of personality features such as neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, alexithymia and Type A behavior, demographical features, and neurobiological features. Psychiatric disorders such as depression and post-Traumatic stress disorders can be precursors to burnout as well as consequences of burnout.