Occupational burnout underestimated for too long

Meeting on job-related illnesses

31/03/2014

From Wednesday, hundreds of occupational and environmental physicians will meet in Dresden for their annual conference. A key topic of their discussions will be the role of physics in the onset of disease in the workplace. The experts will also deal with job-related mental illnesses such as burnout.

Around 600 experts are expected
A key topic at the annual meeting of the German Society for Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine will be the role of physics in the onset of disease in the job. About 600 specialists from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are expected at the congress. It will take place from Wednesday, 02. April, to Friday, 04. April 2014, in the German Hygiene Museum in Dresden. The experts will discuss issues such as skin cancer risk in construction, eczema of hairdressers and florists, musicians with hearing damage, lack of vaccine protection for teachers as well as depression and burnout.

Entitlement to occupational medical check-ups
According to the information provided by the society, employees are entitled to occupational medical check-ups vis-à-vis the employer. According to this, every employee can regularly check whether dangers to his health result from his workplace. Thus, in a job with particulate matter pollution, a pulmonary function test or in the case of people working on the computer could be examined by eye. In addition to prevention and occupational health management, the latest scientific findings in the field of occupational medicine are further topics of the program.

Burnout long underestimated
In addition, job-related mental illness will be a focal point of the conference. According to the President of the German Society for Occupational Medicine and Environmental Medicine, Professor Hans Drexler, for example, burnout has long been underestimated. „In the past three or four years, however, a massive change in thinking has begun.“ Numerous media reports also testified to a shift in public awareness of burnout as well as early retirement and disability due to mental illness. The problem is recognized, but it is not solved. Since burnout is very inaccurately used for a variety of symptoms, it is difficult to specify specific numbers of sufferers. Symptoms may include exhaustion, tiredness, insomnia and a strong desire to retreat. But the distinction to other mental illnesses is difficult.

Everyone benefits from good working conditions
The patron of the conference is Federal Labor and Social Affairs Minister Andrea Nahles (SPD). For them, occupational medicine is the focus of health research. In a greeting to the three-day congress, she writes: „We need safe, good and healthy working conditions.“ Everyone would benefit from this: society, employers and employees. (Sb)