Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39849408›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2025

Covid-19 pandemic-related changes in teleworking, emotional exhaustion, and occupational burnout: a cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study.

Anshu Uppal, Nick Pullen, Hélène Baysson, Stephanie Schrempft, Aminata Rosalie Bouhet, María-Eugenia Zaballa, Julien Lamour, Mayssam Nehme, Idris Guessous, Silvia Stringhini and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Anshu UppalUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Nick PullenUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Hélène BayssonUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Stephanie SchrempftUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Aminata Rosalie BouhetUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
María-Eugenia ZaballaUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Julien LamourUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Mayssam NehmeUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Idris GuessousDivision of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.
Silvia StringhiniUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland.
Elsa LortheUnit of Population Epidemiology, Division of Primary Care Medicine, Geneva University Hospitals, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, Geneva, 1205, Switzerland. elsa.lorthe@hug.ch.
Specchio-COVID19 study group

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic prompted significant shifts to teleworking, raising questions about potential impacts on employee wellbeing. This study examined the association between self-reported changes to teleworking frequency (relative to before the pandemic) and two indicators of occupational burnout: emotional exhaustion and professionally diagnosed burnout.

methodsData were derived from two samples from a digital cohort study based in Geneva, Switzerland: one population-based, and one from a sample of workers who were likely mobilized in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Emotional exhaustion was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (EE-MBI), while self-reported diagnosed burnout was assessed by asking participants if they had received a professional diagnosis of occupational burnout within the previous 12 months. Participants were categorized based on self-reported telework frequency changes: "no change," "increase," "decrease," "never telework," and "not possible to telework." Adjusted regression models for each of the study samples were used to estimate associations between telework changes and burnout outcomes, accounting for sociodemographic, household, and work-related factors.

resultsIn the population-based sample of salaried employees (n = 1,332), the median EE-MBI score was 14 (interquartile range: 6-24), and 7.3% reported diagnosed burnout. Compared to those reporting no change in telework frequency (19% of the sample), those reporting a decrease (4%) and those reporting that teleworking was not possible (28.7%) had significantly higher emotional exhaustion scores (adjusted beta (aβ) 5.26 [95% confidence interval: 1.47, 9.04] and aβ 3.51 [0.44, 6.59], respectively) and additionally reported higher odds of diagnosed burnout (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 10.59 [3.24, 34.57] and aOR 3.42 [1.22, 9.65], respectively). "Increased" (28.9%) and "never" (19.4%) telework statuses were not significantly associated with burnout outcomes. These trends were mirrored in the "mobilized-workers" sample, with the exception that those reporting that teleworking was not possible did not report significantly higher odds of diagnosed burnout compared to those reporting no change in telework frequency.

conclusionsDecreased teleworking frequency and not having the possibility of telework were associated with higher emotional exhaustion and diagnosed burnout. As organizations reconsider their telework policies in a post-pandemic era, they should consider the impact of such organizational changes on employee wellbeing.

Indexed as

Burnout, ProfessionalCOVID-19TeleworkingAdultCohort StudiesCross-Sectional StudiesEmotional ExhaustionFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsSARS-CoV-2SwitzerlandDiagnosed burnoutEmotional exhaustionOrganizational changeRemote workWork from home

Identifiers

PMID39849408
PMCPMC11756113

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.