The Polish adaptation of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-PL) by Schaufeli et al.

Beata Basińska,Ewa Gruszczyńska,Wilmar Schaufeli

doi:10.12740/pp/onlinefirst/141563

Abstract

The study aimed to present the Polish version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-PL) by W. Schaufeli et al. and to assess its validity and reliability. The tool measures the core symptoms of burnout (BAT-C): exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive and emotional impairment, and its secondary symptoms (BAT-S): psychosomatic complaints and psychological distress. The participants were 255 nursing staff members. The construct validity was assessed with a one-point job satisfaction scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale by Schaufeli et al. and the Job-related Affective Well-being Scale by van Katwyk et al. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported an assumed bi-factor structure. This applies to both BAT-C as the four core symptoms and a general factor and BAT-S as a set of two secondary symptoms and a general factor. Both scales were strongly correlated with one another and differed from other measures of job-related well-being (job satisfaction, work engagement and negative emotions). The values of Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability indicated BAT-PL as a reliable measurement tool. BAT-PL by W. Schaufeli et al. has good psychometric characteristics to be used in research on burnout and further validated in clinical practice.

Highlights

Burnout syndrome is a central indicator of the work-related health deterioration process [1]
The results of the analysis revealed that the model of four correlated Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT)-C factors yielded acceptable fit, which, was lower than for the bi-factor model
The factor structure of BAT-PL revealed that burnout is a syndrome of four correlated core symptoms – BAT-C, which in turn is correlated with secondary symptoms (BAT-S)

Summary

Introduction

Burnout syndrome is a central indicator of the work-related health deterioration process [1]. This phenomenon is common in the healthcare sector, for which it is estimated that, depending on the profession, the percentage of burned-out workers ranges between 35-80% [2,3,4]. There has been an increase in bureaucratic load and more tasks are perceived as redundant [21] It has become a common experience for healthcare employees to be engaged mostly in preparing documentation, reports and statements instead of focussing on medical care [22,23,24]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion