Working With Type 1 Diabetes: Investigating the Associations Between Diabetes-Related Distress, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction

Alexandra Sasha Cook; Alexander Zill

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697833

Working With Type 1 Diabetes: Investigating the Associations Between Diabetes-Related Distress, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction

Front Psychol. 2021 Nov 4:12:697833. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.697833. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Alexandra Sasha Cook^{1

2}, Alexander Zill³

Affiliations

¹ Psychology Research Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
² Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
³ Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany.

Abstract

The present study investigates the association between diabetes-related distress (DD) and work outcomes (burnout and job satisfaction) among employed people with type 1 diabetes. Employed adults with type 1 diabetes (N = 297) completed an online survey. Measures assessed emotional, social, food- and treatment-related DD, burnout, and job satisfaction, as well as the type of insulin treatment. We conducted multiple regression analyses to test our hypotheses. Emotional DD was significantly and positively associated with burnout. Social DD was significantly and negatively associated with job satisfaction. The type of treatment (insulin pen versus insulin pump) had no significant effect on the outcomes. This study sets the stage for research on the interactions between working conditions, work outcomes and illness symptoms, and problems of people with type 1 diabetes, and, generally, employees with chronic illnesses. The findings have implications for individual health and illness management, burnout prevention, and occupational health measures.

Keywords: burnout; chronic illness; diabetes mellitus; distress; job satisfaction.