Mentale energie en werk

Een persoonlijke balans
03/07/2020
Wilmar Schaufeli
Geen reacties
Lightspring shutterstock_1385815337 burnout lucifers
Volume 55, Issue 7

Mental energy: An insider view

W.B. Schaufeli

Looking back at the end of my academic career, it looks like mental energy is still a hot topic in today’s research and practice in occupational health psychology, as it was a couple of decades ago. This applies particularly to burnout (low mental energy), but also to work engagement (high mental energy), which was introduced more recently. In this insider view, I am taking stock and try to answer four questions: (1) How well can we assess mental energy? (2) What is the prevalence of mental energy in the Netherlands? (3) What do we know about the antecedents and consequences of mental energy? (4) To what extent are interventions to increase mental energy evidence  based? The paper is concluded with a discussion about the relationship between science and practice, in which five examples are presented of important issues for practice, which, so far, have not been adequately covered by scientifi c research (i.e., short measurement tools, benchmarks, organizational interventions, severe burnout, cost-benefit analyses).

872 Weergaven
23 Downloads
    • Terugblik
    • Mentale energie
    • De moeizame relatie tussen wetenschap en praktijk
    • Perspectief
  • Literatuurlijst
  • Over de auteur
Log in
Eind vorig jaar nam Wilmar Schaufeli afscheid als hoogleraar Arbeids-en Organisatiepsychologie aan de Universiteit Utrecht. In dit artikel blikt hij terug op het fenomeen mentale energie dat altijd een centrale plaats in zijn onderzoek heeft ingenomen. Burn-out, oftewel mentale uitputting, is gesitueerd aan de negatieve zijde van het energiespectrum en bevlogenheid aan het andere, positieve uiteinde. ‘Een burn-out hebben is niet hetzelfde als eens per maand vermoeidheidsklachten ervaren.’

Er is al jarenlang een afvalrace aan de gang. Er is een sterke verschuiving van fysieke naar mentale belasting. Van steeds meer werknemers wordt klantgericht werken geëist. Werknemers worden bovendien geconfronteerd met bezuinigingen en flexibilisering. In personeelsadvertenties wordt steeds vaker de nadruk gelegd op het belang van sociale vaardigheden; je goed kunnen uitdrukken, in een team kunnen werken, en tegenslagen kunnen incasseren.’

Deze woorden stonden daags na mijn oratie over burn-out in 1995 in een voorpagina-artikel van de Volkskrant (11 maart 1995). Dat artikel bewijst twee dingen. Allereerst is er kennelijk de afgelopen 25 jaar niet zoveel veranderd in Nederland; werken is nog steeds topsport en een afvalrace. En ten tweede, ook toen al stond burn-out in het centrum van de belangstelling. Dat is niet zo vreemd, want bij de invoering van arbeidsongeschiktheidswet (WAO) in 1967 bedroeg het percentage afkeuringen op psychische gronden 11% en ongeveer dertig jaar later, ten tijde van mijn oratie, was dat bijna verdrievoudigd tot 30%. Daarna is die stijging overigens gewoon

Literatuurlijst

  1. Ahola, K., Toppinen-Tanner, S. & Seppänen, J. (2017). Interventions to alleviate burnout symptoms and to support return to work among employees with burnout: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Burnout Research, 4, 1–11.
  2. Arbobalans 2018. Leiden: TNO.
  3. Bianchi, R., Schonfeld, I.S. & Laurent, E. (2015). Burnout-depression overlap: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 36, 28–41.
  4. Bailey, C., Madden, A., Alfes, K. & Fletcher, L. (2017). The Meaning, antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement: A narrative synthesis. International Journal of Management Reviews, 19, 31–53.
  5. Bakker, A.B. & Demerouti, E. (2016). Job Demands – Resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22, 273–285.
  6. Crawford, E.R., Lepine, J.A & Rich, B.L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta-analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95, 834–48.
  7. Danhof-Pont, M.B., van Veen, T. & Zitman, F.G. (2011). Biomarkers in burnout: A systematic review. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 70,
    505–524.
  8. Dreison, K.C., Luther, L., Bonfi ls, K.A., Sliter, M.T., McGrew, J.H. & Salyers, M.P. (2016). Job burnout in mental health providers: A meta-analysis of 35 years of Intervention. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23, 18 –30.
  9. Haas, E. (1995). Op de juiste plaats. De opkomst van de bedrijfs- en schoolpsychologische beroepspraktijk in Nederland. Verloren: Hilversum.
  10. Hakanen, J.J., Peeters, M.C.W. & Schaufeli, W.B. (2018). Different types of employee wellbeing across time and their relationships with job crafting. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 23, 289–301.
  11. Han, B-C. (2010). Müdigkeitsgesellschaft. Matthes & Seits: Berlin.
  12. Houtman, I. (ter perse). De epidemiologie van werkgerelateerde psychische aandoeningen en klachten. In W.B. Schaufeli & A.B. Bakker (Red.), De psychologie van arbeid en gezondheid (4e druk). Houten: BSL.
  13. Iancu, A.E., Rusu, A., Măroiu, C., Păcurar, R. & Maricuțoiu, L.P. (2018). The effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing teacher burnout: A
    meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 30, 373–396.
  14. Kleijweg, J.H.M., Verbraak, M.J.P.M. & Van Dijk, M.K. (2013). The clinical utility of the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a clinical population.
    Psychological Assessment, 25, 435–41.
  15. Knight, C., Patterson, M. & Dawson, J. (2016). Building work engagement: A systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness
    of work engagement interventions. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 38, 792–812.
  16. Langelaan, S., Bakker, A.B., Schaufeli, W.B., Van Rhenen, W. & Van Doornen, L. (2006). Do burned-out and engaged employees differ in HPA-axis functioning? Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health, 32, 339–348.
  17. Langelaan, S., Bakker, A.B., Schaufeli, W.B., Van Rhenen, W. & Van Doornen, L.J.P. (2007). Is burnout related to allostatic load? International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 14, 213–221.
  18. Lesener, T., Gusy, B. & Wolter, C. (2019). The job demands-resources model: A meta-analytic review of longitudinal studies. Work & Stress, 33, 76–103.
  19. Maricuţoiu, L.P., Sava, F.A. & Butta, O. (2016). The effectiveness of controlled interventions on employees’ burnout: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89, 1–27.
  20. Mazetti, G., Schaufeli, W.B. & Guglielmi, D (2018). Are workaholism and work engagement in the eye of the beholder? A multirater perspective on different forms of working hard. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 34, 30–40.
  21. Nielsen, K. & Abildgaard, J.S. (2013). Organizational interventions: A research- based framework for the evaluation of both process and e ffects. Work & Stress, 27, 278–297.
  22. Oosterholt, B.G., Maes, J.H., Van der Linden, D., Verbraak, M.J. & Kompier, M.A. (2016). Getting better, but not well: A 1.5-year follow-up of cognitive performance and cortisol levels in clinical and non-clinical burnout. Biological psychology, 117, 89-99.
  23. Perski, O., Grossi, G., Perski, A. & Niemi, M. (2017). A systematic review and meta-analysis of tertiary interventions in clinical burnout. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 58, 551–561.
  24. Pines, A. (1993). Burnout: An existential perspective. In W.B. Schaufeli, C. Maslach & T. Marek (Eds.), Professional burnout. Recent developments in theory and research (pp. 33–52). Washington: Taylor & Francis
  25. Rabinbach, A. (1990). The human motor. Energy, fatigue and the origins of modernity. Berkeley, CA: University of Berkeley Press.
  26. Rahmadani, V., Schaufeli, W.B., Ivanova, T.Y. & Osin, E.N. (2019). Basic psychological need satisfaction mediates the relationship between engaging leadership and work engagement: A cross-national study. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 30, 453–471.
  27. Rahmadani, V., Schaufeli, W.B, Stouten, J., Zhang, Z. & Zulkarmain, Z. (2020). Engaging leadership and its implication for work engagement and job outcomes at individual and team level: A multilevel longitudinal study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17,776.
  28. Roelen, C.A.M., Van Ho ffen, M.F.A., Grootho ff, J.W., De Bruin, J., Schaufeli, W.B. & Van Rhenen, W. (2015). Can the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale be used to screen for risk of long-term sickness absence? International Achieves for Occupational and Environmental Health, 88, 467–475.
  29. Schaufeli, W.B. (2014). What is engagement? In C. Truss, R. Delbridge, K. Alfes, A. Shantz, & E. Soane. (Eds.). Employee engagement in theory and practice (pp. 15–35). London: Routledge.
  30. Schaufeli, W.B. (2015). Engaging leadership in the Job Demands-Resources Model. Career Development International, 20, 446-463.
  31. Schaufeli, W.B. (2017a). Burnout: A short socio-cultural history. In S. Neckel, A.K. Scha ffner & G. Wagner (Eds.), Burnout, fatigue, exhaustion: An interdisciplinary perspective on a modern affliction (pp. 105–127). Cham: Springer.
  32. Schaufeli, W.B. (2017b). The Job Demands-Resources model; A ‘how to’ guide to increase work engagement and prevent burnout. Organizational Dynamics, 46, 120–132.
  33. Schaufeli, W.B. (2018a). Burn-out: Feiten en fi ctie. De Psycholoog, 53(9), 10-20.
  34. Schaufeli, W.B. (2018b). Work engagement in Europe: Relations with national economy, governance and culture. Organizational Dynamics, 47, 99–106. Schaufeli, W.B. (2018c). Burnout in Europe: Relations with national economy, governance, and culture. Intern rapport. KU Leuven, België.
  35. Schaufeli, W.B., De Witte, H. & Desart, S. (2019a). Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) – Handleiding. Intern rapport. KU Leuven, België. Te downloaden via: www.buroutassessmenttool.be.
  36. Schaufeli, W. B., Shimazu, A., Hakanen, J., Salanova, M. & De Witte, H. (2019b). An ultra-short measure for work engagement: The UWES-3 validation across fi ve countries. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 35, 577–591.
  37. Schaufeli, W.B. & Van Dierendonck, D. (2000) Handleiding van de Utrechtse Burnout Schaal (UBOS). Lisse: Swets & Zeitlinger. Schaufeli, W.B. &
  38. Taris, T.W. (2014). A critical review of the Job Demands- Resources Model: Implications for improving work and health. In G. Bauer & O. Hämmig (Eds.), Bridging occupational, organizational and public health: A transdisciplinary approach. (pp.43–68). Dordrecht: Springer.
  39. Spector, P.E. & Pindeck, S. (2016). The future of research methods in work and occupational health psychology. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 65, 412–431.
  40. Taris, T.W. & Schaufeli, W.B. (2016). The Job Demands-Resources model. In: S. Clarke, T.M. Probst, F. Guldenmund, & J. Passmore (Eds.). The Wiley Blackwell handbook of the psychology of occupational safety and workplace health (pp. 157–180). Chichester: John Wiley.
  41. UWV (2019). UWV jaarverslag 2018; Kwantitatieve Informatie. Amsterdam: Uitvoering Werknemersverzekeringen (UWV).
  42. Van Beek, I., Hu, Q., Schaufeli, W.B., Taris. T. & Schreurs, B.H. (2012). For fun, love or money. What drives workaholic, engaged and burnedout employees at work? Applied Psychology : An International Review, 61, 30–55.
  43. Van Beek, I., Taris. T., Schaufeli, W.B. & Brenninkmeijer (2014). Heavy work investment: Its motivational make-up and outcomes. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29, 46–62.
  44. Van Doornen, L.J.P., Houtveen, J.H., Langelaan, S., Bakker, A.B., Van Rhenen, W. & Schaufeli, W.B. (2009). Burnout versus work engagement in their e ffects on 24-hour ambulatory monitored cardiac autonomic function. Stress and Health, 25, 323–331