Relationship between burnout, effort-reward imbalance, and insomnia among Informational Technology professionals

BACKGROUND: Work in informational technology (IT) professionals is highly competitive and stressful, leading to job stress. This can lead to burnout, effort-reward imbalance (ERI), and poor sleep quality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present study examined associations of ERI, burnout, and poor sleep quality among IT professionals using data from 200 software engineers (mean age of 29.3 ± 4 years, 32% women). ERI and overcommitment were assessed using Siegrist's “effort-reward” questionnaire. The Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) was used to assess burnout and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to assess sleep quality. RESULTS: ERI, burnout and poor sleep quality were present in 72%, 60%, and 70%, respectively. Females had higher ERI, burnout, and poor sleep quality compared to males. ERI is significantly associated with burnout (r = 0.45, P < 0.01) and poor sleep quality (r = 0.31, P < 0.01). Linear regression to assess the ability of ERI to predict levels of burnout yielded a statistically significant (R(2) = 0.206, P < 0.01) indicating ERI to be a unique incremental predictor of burnout (b = 0.454, t = 7.16, P < 0.01). ERI tends to be a predictive factor of poor sleep quality with Odd's ratio = 3.5, 95%CI (1.81–6.73), P < 0.01. CONCLUSION: In summary, Intervention programs both at the individual and at the organization level have to be designed to combat ERI, burnout, and poor sleep quality among IT professionals.