Insomnia contributes to job burnout, study of financial workers suggests

Paris – Insomnia “appears to be a strong clinical marker of burnout” when paired with demanding work schedules and should be taken into account in workplace mental health programs, according to a study of financial industry workers published Jan. 13 in the journal BMJ Open.

For the study, researchers surveyed 1,300 employees of a financial company in France between 2012 and 2014. Participants submitted feedback via questionnaires about their job demands, sleep disturbances and other issues.

After analyzing the data, the researchers found that high job strain was a burnout risk factor among workers who said they also experienced insomnia. In contrast, job strain was not a burnout risk factor for workers who did not experience insomnia, leading researchers to call for additional research on the sleep disorder.

“Future research on other professional groups such as physicians or the large group of medical occupations who are more prone to burnout prevalence should be conducted in order to detect, prevent or treat sleep disorders, particularly insomnia,” they wrote.