The publication based on the Working Life Barometer makes it possible to examine experiences of occupational burnout and harmful stress filtered according to four background variables.
DESCRIPTION
The Working Life Barometer explores the quality of work life and working conditions from the employees’ perspective. The barometer has been carried out since the year 1992 and it is conducted by Statistics Finland and commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The barometer has included questions related to occupational burnout since the year 2019. Due to changes in the research methods, results starting from 2021 are not fully comparable with the results from 2019 and 2020.
The barometer’s annual sample is comprised of 2,500 employees. The sample is formed of employed 18–64 year-old employees who have responded to the labour force survey by Statistics Finland. The labour force survey is formed with a stratified random sample from a population database based on Statistics Finland’s central register.
The barometer measures the experience of occupational burnout through four questions that concern chronic fatigue, mental distancing from work, impairment of cognitive function and difficulties in emotional control. The Working Life Barometer includes a question on how often the respondent experiences these feelings. The barometer includes one question regarding the experience of stress, concerning how often the respondent experiences harmful stress.
WHAT THE INDICATORS INDICATE
The indicators make it possible to examine the prevalence of occupational burnout and harmful stress filtered by two different background variables. The results can be grouped cross-wise based on the respondents’ gender, employer sector, age group or professional status. The results can be examined as numbers of respondents and as proportions.
People who experience occupational burnout are defined by establishing a limit value for the average number of points for the question measuring occupational burnout. The limit value is based on extensive international population studies regarding occupational burnout. People who experience stress are defined by choosing those respondents who report experiencing quite a lot or very much harmful stress.
The indicators combine data for the year pairs 2019 to 2020 and 2021 to 2022 of the Working Life Barometer. The Working Life Barometer is carried out annually and its data is updated to the Work-Life Knowledge service regularly.
