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Burnout and effort–reward-imbalance in a sample of 949 German teachers

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International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

High rates of teachers’ premature retirement initiated a research investigating their occupational burden. The aim of this study was to elaborate on and extend previous investigations exploring (1) teacher burnout and (2) the relationship between teachers’ efforts and their rewards.

Methods

A sample of 949 German teachers in 10 Gymnasien (grammar schools) and 79 Hauptschulen (secondary modern schools) was investigated applying the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-D) and the Effort Reward Imbalance Inventory (ERI).

Results

Compared with other studies investigating burnout in employees, we found high rates of burnout symptoms such as emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and low personal accomplishment. Male teachers showed significantly lower personal accomplishment and more depersonalization than female teachers. With respect to school types, teachers in Hauptschulen were more often affected by emotional exhaustion and showed more depersonalization. Part-time teachers felt less personal accomplishment than full-time teachers. The ERI cut off was exceeded by 21.6% of all teachers indicating that this subgroup is affected by an imbalance between too much effort and too little reward. With respect to the ERI, significant differences were found for school types, with a higher proportion of Hauptschulen teachers being above this cut off.

Conclusions

At present, the working situation of teachers appears to be characterized by a perceived imbalance of effort and reward and is associated with a high risk of developing burnout symptoms.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin, Berlin. We are grateful to Dr. Jürgen Kopske and Dr. Uwe Rose, Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz, who helped with respect to the design of the study and repeatedly gave valuable advice. We are also indebted to Siegfried Specker, Head of the “Abteilung Schule und Bildung” of the Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, for his valuable support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abteilung für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Hauptstr. 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany

    Thomas Unterbrink, Anna Hack, Ruth Pfeifer, Michael Wirsching & Joachim Bauer

  2. Regierungspräsidium Freiburg, Eisenbahnstr. 68, 79098, Freiburg, Germany

    Udo Müller & Helmut Wesche

  3. Technische Universität Dresden, Institut und Poliklinik für Arbeits-und Sozialmedizin, Fetscherstr. 74, 03107, Dresden, Germany

    Klaus Scheuch & Reingard Seibt

  4. Staatliches Seminar für Didaktik und Lehrerbildung (Gymnasien und Sonderschulen) Freiburg, Kunzenweg 21, 79117, Freiburg, Germany

    Veronika Buhl-Grießhaber & Markus Frommhold

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  1. Thomas Unterbrink
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  2. Anna Hack
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  3. Ruth Pfeifer
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  4. Veronika Buhl-Grießhaber
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  5. Udo Müller
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  6. Helmut Wesche
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  7. Markus Frommhold
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  8. Klaus Scheuch
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  10. Michael Wirsching
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  11. Joachim Bauer
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Correspondence to Joachim Bauer.

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Unterbrink, T., Hack, A., Pfeifer, R. et al. Burnout and effort–reward-imbalance in a sample of 949 German teachers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 80, 433–441 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0169-0

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