Brief description of the procedure

Authors
Peter Hoffmann

Area(s) of application
Burnout
The New York psychotherapist Herbert Freudenberger introduced the term "burnout" to the scientific literature in the 1970s. He used it to describe the state of being "burnt out" in employees in social professions who had overcommitted themselves to their work. According to current concepts, burnout is understood as a permanent, negative, work-related state of mind in people of all professions and as a risk condition for the development of serious secondary illnesses such as depression, sleep disorders or chronic pain disorders. According to sociologist Christina Maslach's concept, the more than 160 individual symptoms previously associated with burnout can be assigned to 3 main dimensions: 1) emotional exhaustion, 2) depersonalization and 3) reduced work performance.
Depression
Depression is one of the most common widespread illnesses, leading to a high level of suffering for those affected and high costs for society. Sick leave and early retirement play a greater role than treatment costs. According to a bio-psycho-social disease model, depression is usually triggered and maintained by an interplay of genetic, physical and psychosocial factors (such as long-term work stress). Almost one in five people suffer from a depressive episode at least once in their lives. Depression is diagnosed more frequently in women, although there is probably a higher number of unreported cases in men. The 3 main symptoms and the duration of symptoms are recorded using the checklist.
Sleep disorders
Around one in four people in western industrialized countries suffers from more or less pronounced sleep disorders, and one in two of them has a condition that requires treatment. Sufficient sleep quality enables us to regenerate mentally and physically, even in stressful times. The consequence of persistent sleep disorders is a significant reduction in quality of life and occupational performance. Sleep disorders can have a variety of causes and occur more frequently in cases of chronic stress, burnout and depression. 80-90% of people suffering from a depressive episode suffer from significant sleep disturbances. Conversely, people with persistent sleep disorders (e.g. chronic stress) have a 2-5 times higher risk of developing a depressive episode.
Headache
Headaches are one of the most common health impairments: Around four percent of the German population suffers from them every day and around 70 percent suffer from occasional or chronic headaches. Tension headaches and migraines are the most common of the more than 250 types of headache. Tension headaches occur in the majority of people, while migraines affect around 8.5 percent of men and 15 percent of women. There are pronounced, two-way interactions between psychological and psychosocial factors such as stress, burnout and depression on the one hand and headaches on the other. For example, both depression and migraine significantly increase the risk of the other illness occurring.

Execution
The procedure consists of 9-11 items and can be completed online or in paper-pencil form.

Execution time
Approx. 4 minutes

Languages
German, English

Security and data protection
The IR&C system meets the latest IT requirements ("banking standard"). As an additional security measure, personal codes can also be assigned instead of the specific names of the persons tested. Customers only need to provide sufficient PCs/laptops/touchpads with or without an Internet connection (on/off-line capable, also intranet-capable).