Explanatory Factors of Burnout in a Sample of Workers with Disabilities from the Special Employment Centres (SEC) of the Amica Association, Spain

Background: we have based our study on the fact that the labour market is progressively becoming more accessible for people with disabilities. This investigation aims to identify the factors that contribute to high levels of work-related stress in a group of disabled individuals in order to develop policies to prevent it and promote the health of the workforce.

Methods: 131 workers from two Special Employment Centres (SECs) of the Amica Association in Cantabria (Spain) participated in the study. Sociodemographic and job-related variables were collected using a questionnaire. Work-related stress was evaluated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), which analyzes emotional exhaustion, cynicism and personal efficacy.

Results: the main explanatory factors for higher levels of emotional exhaustion were more than 5 years of service in the company (OR 3.235-IC 95% 1.392-7.519; p = 0.006) and bad job satisfaction (OR 7.615-IC 95% 2.467-23.503; p = 0.0001); higher levels of cynicism were also explained by bad job satisfaction (OR 8.599-IC 95% 2.481-29.799; p = 0.001).

Conclusions: future research is needed to facilitate the design of company policies and promote the well-being of the disabled population in the workplace, to avoid pathological conditions such as burnout syndrome.