Job Burnout, Health-Related Quality of Life, and Sickness Absence in Greek Health Professionals

This study examined how job burnout was associated with sick-leave absence and quality of life in a sample of 487 nurses working in the National Health Care System. Burnout was measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory, while quality of life was measured with Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36). Data on sick leaves were collected from hospital personnel records. Logistic regression indicated that levels of burnout (emotional exhaustion) were significant predictors of short-term (but not long-term) sickness absence. Long-term sickness absence could be predicted by poor physical health. The findings indicate that burnout not only may negatively impact on quality of life of health-care providers, but also may influence short sick leaves. Implications for the implementation of absence reduction programs are discussed.