Job Burnout and Physical Activity in Mental Health Workers

The purpose of the present study was the investigation of occupational overwhelming in professionals working in mental health and its relation to the level of physical activity. The participants in this study were 100 professionals working in units of mental health and psychosocial rehabilitation. The participants filled in questionnaires, which evaluated the occupational overwhelming and physical activity. They also answered questions concerning the life style of the work force. The results revealed that the average rate of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment were 16.13 (SD=7,23), 3,90 (SD=4,39), 37,18 (SD=8,54). A 10,1% of the participants presented a high sense of emotional exhaustion, 17,2% presented a high sense of depersonalization, while 49,4% presented a high sense of personal accomplishment. As far as the energy requirements of physical activity is concerned, the results showed that 61,7% of the participants exhibited a low average level of physical activity, while 38,5% exhibited a high level of physical activity. According to the statistics physical activity was not significally correlated with occupational overwhelming F (2,78) = 3,35, p = 0,04.