Designing and developing self-directed work teams

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Het ontwerpen en ontwikkelen van zelfsturende teams

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Associations of fatigue and depression among fatigued employees over time: a 4-year follow-up study

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate how unexplained fatigue and depression are associated over time in a sample of employees with advanced fatigue, taking physical functioning and work status into account. Methods: Data come from a randomized trial in which 151 fatigued employees on sick leave participated. Using repeated-measures analysis, we assessed associations between fatigue and depression scores over the course of 4 years, controlling for physical functioning and work status. Results: Many participants suffered from fatigue and depression that persisted in time. Depression had a strong impact on fatigue in the course of follow-up, and fatigue had a strong impact on depression. The impact of depression on fatigue increased significantly in time, but not vice versa. Physical functioning and work status did not confound the association of fatigue and depression. Conclusion: Fatigue and depression are strongly associated in time and might become more intertwined as time persists. One possible explanation is that depression reinforces fatigue, which suggests that treatment should be focused on all aspects of emotional well-being

Job insecurity as a risk factor for common infections and health complaints.

Item does not contain fulltextThe aim of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional and longitudinal effect of job insecurity on common infections and health complaints. Self-administered questionnaire data from the Maastricht Cohort Study (n = 12, 140) were used. We used Generalized Estimating Equations analyses to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals. A cross-sectional relationship between job insecurity and common infections or health complaints was found. For the longitudinal relationship, the largest effect was found for flu-like illness (OR 1.39; CI = 1.22-1.57) and health complaints (OR 1.51; CI = 1.39-1.64). We additionally corrected for health behavior, the presence of a long-standing illness, and work-related demands, resulting in lower ORs. An increase in common infections or health complaints has a substantial impact on employee well-being and may result in economic consequences for the company

Common infections and the role of burnout in a Dutch working population.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if burnout is a risk factor for common cold, flu-like illness and gastroenteritis. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study among 12,140 employees at baseline, using three consecutive self-administered questionnaires. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) was used to define employees with burnout complaints (Level 1) and clinical burnout (Level 2). The cross-sectional relationship between burnout and the occurrence of common infections was assessed at baseline, using logistic regression analysis. Survival analysis with Cox regression was performed to study the longitudinal relationship between burnout and the subscales of the MBI-GS as risk factors for common infections. RESULTS: For both levels of burnout, an increased incidence of common infections was found at baseline. The largest effect was found for the relationship between burnout and gastroenteritis (OR: 1.86, CI: 1.57-2.21 for Level 1 and OR: 3.59, CI: 2.09-6.17 for Level 2). The longitudinal analyses showed comparable results, although less pronounced. The largest effect was again found for gastroenteritis (RR: 1.55, CI: 1.28-1.86 for Level 1 and RR: 2.09, CI: 1.09-3.98 for Level 2). For flu-like illness and common cold, we found smaller but significant effects at Level 1, but not at Level 2. The subscale "Exhaustion" was found to be the strongest predictor for infections at both levels of burnout. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for burnout as a risk factor for common infections in a large heterogeneous population. Taking into account that burnout or its subscales are not primary etiological agents for these common infections, the observed effects are large

Long-term efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy by general practitioners for fatigue: a 4-year follow-up study.

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Predictors of outcome in fatigued employees on sick leave: results from a randomised trial.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to identify predictors of fatigue caseness, work resumption and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)-like caseness in a sample of fatigued employees on sick leave. METHODS: For 12 months, 151 fatigued employees on sick leave, 44% of whom met research criteria for CFS at baseline, were followed. Measures included fatigue, health aspects, psychological problems, burnout, causal attributions and self-efficacy. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine associations between predictor variables at baseline and outcome at follow-up. RESULTS: After 12 months, 43% of the patients were no longer fatigue cases, and 62% had resumed work. Recovery from fatigue caseness was predicted by stronger psychological attributions and other perception-related factors, whereas work resumption was predicted by lower age, male sex, CFS-like caseness and less cognitive difficulties. Lower physical functioning scores were predictive of (the development of) CFS-like caseness. CONCLUSION: Recovering from persistent fatigue and work resumption seem to result from different underlying processes and do not necessarily fall together. As many factors associated with outcome in fatigue reflect illness perception, the prevention of persistent fatigue and CFS may partly be achieved by the modification of perception