Prevalence of occupational burnout in Swiss workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Occupational burnout (OB) has been associated with job dissatisfaction, lower productivity, intentions to leave the job, increased turnover and health-care costs, as well as other socioeconomic issues. Despite such negative consequences, the prevalence of burnout among Swiss workers remains unknown. Material and Methods: We interrogated international databases such as Medline (Pubmed), EMBASE, and PsycINFO, and 15 Swiss universities’ databases from 2010 up to July 6, 2021 to identify studies reporting the prevalence of OB and/or emotional exhaustion (EE) - the core OB dimension- in Swiss workers. Data were summarized descriptively and quantitatively using random effects meta-analysis. Results: We identified 23 studies that used different outcome assessment methods: hetero-assessment by physicians and self-reported, using a specific question or one burnout inventory scale (frequently used: Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI)). We estimated the prevalence of clinical/severe burnout, overall burnout and emotional exhaustion (EE)] at 4%, 18% and 18%, respectively, with considerable heterogeneity (I-square >90%, p< 0.00). Conclusions: Despite between-study heterogeneity, our overall estimate of OB in Swiss workers is high enough to reinforce the current efforts to detect it better and earlier and reduce its negative consequences at individual and societal levels