Burnout in relation to age in the adult working population

Burnout is a three-dimensional syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism, and diminished professional efficacy which can result from a combination of prolonged work stress and dysfunctional ways of coping(1,2)). Burnout has both individual and organizational relevance since it has been shown to be associated with physical and mental ill health(3,4)) and to predict work disability as indicated by medically certified sickness absence(5)). In reviews, which have concerned mostly human service work, burnout has been reported to decrease with age(2,6)), whereas population studies on burnout have found the opposite. In two nationally representative Finnish samples(7,8)), which excluded the youngest adults, a positive association emerged between age and the level of burnout. Also, among the working population of one Swedish county, a high level of burnout was more common among aging workers than among middle aged workers, but not among young workers, suggesting a non-linear association between age and burnout(9)). Other sociodemographic associations of burnout have been shown to differ between the sexes(8)). The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between age and burnout by sex in three different age groups, namely among young, middle-aged, and aging workers in a nationally representative sample of employees including the full age range of the adult working population in Finland.