TY - JOUR
T1 - Do burned-out and work-engaged employees differ in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis?
AU - Langelaan, Saar
AU - Bakker, Arnold B.
AU - Schaufeli, Wilmar B.
AU - van Rhenen, Willem
AU - van Doornen, Lorenz J.P.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/10
Y1 - 2006/10
N2 - Objectives: The central aim of the present study was to examine differences in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis between 29 burned-out, 33 work-engaged, and 26 healthy reference managers, as identified with the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Methods: All of the managers were employed in a large Dutch telecommunications company. Salivary cortisol was sampled on three consecutive workdays and one nonworkday to determine the cortisol awakening response. Salivary dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS), a cortisol counterbalancing product of the HPA axis, was measured on these days 1 hour after managers awakened. The dexamethasone suppression test was used to investigate the feedback sensitivity of the HPA axis. Results: The morning cortisol levels were higher on the workdays than on the nonworkday, but this effect did not differ between the three groups. The burned-out, work-engaged, and reference groups did not differ in the cortisol and DHEAS levels, the slope of the cortisol awakening response, and the cortisol: DHEAS ratio. The work-engaged group showed a stronger cortisol suppression in response to the dexamethasone suppression test than the other two groups, the finding suggesting higher feedback sensitivity among work-engaged managers. Conclusions: Burned-out and work-engaged managers only differ marginally in HPA-axis functioning.
AB - Objectives: The central aim of the present study was to examine differences in the functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis between 29 burned-out, 33 work-engaged, and 26 healthy reference managers, as identified with the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Methods: All of the managers were employed in a large Dutch telecommunications company. Salivary cortisol was sampled on three consecutive workdays and one nonworkday to determine the cortisol awakening response. Salivary dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEAS), a cortisol counterbalancing product of the HPA axis, was measured on these days 1 hour after managers awakened. The dexamethasone suppression test was used to investigate the feedback sensitivity of the HPA axis. Results: The morning cortisol levels were higher on the workdays than on the nonworkday, but this effect did not differ between the three groups. The burned-out, work-engaged, and reference groups did not differ in the cortisol and DHEAS levels, the slope of the cortisol awakening response, and the cortisol: DHEAS ratio. The work-engaged group showed a stronger cortisol suppression in response to the dexamethasone suppression test than the other two groups, the finding suggesting higher feedback sensitivity among work-engaged managers. Conclusions: Burned-out and work-engaged managers only differ marginally in HPA-axis functioning.
KW - Burnout
KW - Cortisol awakening response
KW - Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate
KW - Dexamethasone suppression test
KW - Work engagement
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U2 - 10.5271/sjweh.1029
DO - 10.5271/sjweh.1029
M3 - Article
C2 - 17091201
AN - SCOPUS:33751046749
SN - 0355-3140
VL - 32
SP - 339
EP - 348
JO - Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health
JF - Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health
IS - 5
ER -