Observational studyBMJ open2018
Psychosocial work characteristics, burnout, psychological morbidity symptoms and early retirement intentions: a cross-sectional study of NHS consultants in the UK.
Observational study in BMJ open, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 97 citations in OpenAlex.
- Understanding why health professionals are leaving the UK national health service (NHS) - A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of health services research & policy · 2026Pooled it
- Burnout among paediatric surgeons: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ paediatrics open · 2025Pooled it
- The relationship between physician burnout and depression, anxiety, suicidality and substance abuse: A mixed methods systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Associations of physician burnout with career engagement and quality of patient care: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Pooled it
- The global prevalence of depression and anxiety among doctors during the covid-19 pandemic: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of affective disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Depression among healthcare workers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Human resources for health · 2021Pooled it
- Burnout within UK surgical specialties: a systematic review.Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England · 2021Pooled it
- Article
- Manager-Team (Dis)agreement on Stress-Preventive Behaviours: Relationship with Psychosocial Work Environment and Employees' Well-Being.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Motivation to work and attitudes towards retirement among physicians.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- A network analysis bridging the gap between the big five personality traits and burnout among medical staff.BMC nursing · 2024Article
- Management standards and burnout among surgeons in the United Kingdom.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Working conditions, psychological distress and suicidal ideation: cross-sectional survey study of UK junior doctors.BJPsych open · 2023Article
- Is Smart Working Beneficial for Workers' Wellbeing? A Longitudinal Investigation of Smart Working, Workload, and Hair Cortisol/Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Kindness Isn't Just about Being Nice: The Value Proposition of Kindness as Viewed through the Lens of Incivility in the Healthcare Workplace.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- National survey of mental health and life satisfaction of gig workers: the role of loneliness and financial precarity.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Empathy and burnout in medical staff: mediating role of job satisfaction and job commitment.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Burnout and long COVID among the UK nephrology workforce: results from a national survey investigating the impact of COVID-19 on working lives.Clinical kidney journal · 2022Article
- The role conflict-burnout-depression link among Chinese female health care and social service providers: the moderating effect of marriage and motherhood.BMC public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe objectives of this study are twofold. First, to examine the direct effect of psychosocial work characteristics (as measured by job autonomy and work-related pressure) in relation to self-reported psychological morbidity symptoms and early retirement intentions among a sample of hospital consultants in the National Health Service (NHS). Second, to investigate burnout as mediating variable (ie, indirect effect) of these postulated associations.
designA cross-sectional observational study.
participants593 NHS consultants (male=63.1%) from hospitals in England, Scotland and Wales. MEASURES: Self-reported online questionnaires on work-related pressure and job autonomy (Job Demands-Resources Questionnaire); emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation (Maslach Burnout Inventory); depressive and anxiety symptoms (State Trait Personality Inventory) and a single-item on early retirement intention.
resultsThis study observed high prevalence rates across all adverse health measures: emotional exhaustion (38.7%), depersonalisation (20.7%), anxiety symptoms (43.1%) and depressive symptoms (36.1%). Multiple linear regressions examined the postulated direct and indirect effects. Job autonomy had significant negative direct effects on the frequency of NHS consultants' anxiety and depressive symptoms, and their intention to retire early. Both emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation mediated the relationships that work-related pressure (full mediation) and job autonomy (partial mediation) had with self-reported symptoms of psychological morbidities. Only emotional exhaustion mediated the relationships where early retirement intention was the outcome. In terms of sociodemographic factors, age and years' experience predicted both burnout dimensions and psychological morbidity.
conclusionsThis is the first study to observe job autonomy to be associated with the number of self-reported psychological morbidity symptoms and early retirement intentions in a sample of NHS consultants. Burnout dimensions mediated these relationships, indicating that interventions need to focus on enhancing working conditions and addressing burnout among NHS consultants before more severe symptoms of psychological morbidity are reported. This study has implications for NHS policy makers and senior leadership.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.