Which jobs have the highest levels of mental fatigue?
In 2019, mental fatigue complaintsnoot1 caused by work (burn-out complaints) occurred most frequently among employees with a pedagogical profession, such as teachers and educators, and people working in the care and welfare sectors. In both 2018 and 2019, 17 percent of all employees reported mental fatigue complaints. This was still 15 percent in 2015. This is evident from the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey (NEA), conducted jointly by CBS and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).
In this survey, employees answer questions about the conditions under which they work. For example, people are asked about mental fatigue complaints related to work. These can manifest themselves as feelings of emptiness at the end of the working day, or feelings of fatigue on being faced with work.
Nearly a quarter of employees working in education (24 percent) reported feeling mentally fatigued at least a couple of times a month in 2019. For employees in care and welfare professions, the figure was 20 percent. Workers in agricultural occupations suffered the least from mental fatigue due to work (13 percent).
More fatigue complaints associated with a high workload and low level of independence on the job
The survey figures show that mental fatigue due to work is more common among employees who generally experience a high workload. This is to say they are regularly required to work very fast, very long hours or extra hard.
It turns out that the amount of autonomy employees have, i.e. how much they have to say about the way they work, is decisive. Employees who experience a high workload but are able to (co-)decide on how the work is carried out and the order and speed in which the work has to be done, as well as on leave and working hours, report mental fatigue complaints less often than employees who do not have this level of autonomy (in 2019, 22 percent and 37 percent, respectively). Employees with a lot of autonomy and a low workload suffer the least from mental fatigue complaints (in 2019 this was 8 percent).
| Share of employees | |
|---|---|
| Low level of autonomy | . |
| High workload | 37 |
| Low workload | 12 |
| High level of autonomy | . |
| High workload | 22 |
| Low workload | 8 |
Little autonomy and high workload in the education sector
The fact that autonomy, work pressure and mental fatigue complaints are interrelated becomes apparent when professions are compared. Managers experienced the highest workload in 2019, but also had the most autonomy. The percentage of managers with mental fatigue complaints was one of the lowest among all employees. Workers in the transport and logistics professions also report relatively few mental fatigue complaints.
While they have little autonomy, they do not experience a high workload. Both a high workload and a low degree of autonomy are common in education and in care and welfare professions.
The service professions are an exception. This sector is characterised by both a high workload and little autonomy, yet relatively few employees reported mental fatigue complaints in 2019. This can in part be explained by the fact that these professions, including the hospitality industry, are staffed by a relatively large number of young people.
| Low level of autonomy | High workload | Mental fatigue symptoms several or more times a month | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All occupations | 43 | 38 | 17 |
| . | . | . | |
| Educational occupations | 64 | 46 | 24 |
| Care and welfare | 58 | 44 | 20 |
| Creative and linguistic occupations |
29 | 40 | 18 |
| Public administration, security and justice |
39 | 35 | 17 |
| ICT | 17 | 31 | 17 |
| Technical occupations | 38 | 32 | 17 |
| Business economics and administration |
28 | 36 | 16 |
| Commercial occupations | 44 | 35 | 15 |
| Service-oriented occupations | 59 | 40 | 15 |
| Transport and logistics |
69 | 29 | 14 |
| Managers | 11 | 55 | 14 |
| Agricultural occupations | 50 | 30 | 13 |
The questions
- How does CBS calculate the figures?
- How do we use our land?
- How fast is the population growing?
- How are the various animal species doing?
- What are our top concerns?
- Where do the emigrants go?
- Who use social media the most?
- How isolated do we feel?
- What are our favourite wedding dates? What about partnership registrations?
- How many under-18s are receiving youth assistance?
- What about cyber crime?
- What are the most popular majors?
- What are the major religions?
- How many overnight stays?
- How many people shop online? And the items they buy...
- Who are eligible to vote?
- What are young people doing online?
- How many adults smoke or have smoked?
- Where were people in the Caribbean Netherlands originally born?
- Where do Caribbean Dutch children live?
- How much internet usage in the Caribbean Netherlands?
- How many people (never) work from home?
- How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
- Has our purchasing power gone up or down?
- Which jobs have the highest levels of mental fatigue?
- How many employees are members of a trade union?
- How many passengers flying into and out of the Netherlands?
- How much nitrogen is emitted at livestock farms?
- How many dwellings in the Netherlands?
- How much is our average mileage in electric cars?
- What do we import from China?
- Which prices are up, which are down?
- What is our production of frozen fries?
- How many enterprises in the Netherlands?
- How much energy do we get from biomass?
- How much do we recycle?
- Which flower bulbs are most common?
- What is the impact of coronavirus?
Notes
Work-related mental fatigue
Mental fatigue due to work is measured based on the following statements:
- I feel emotionally exhausted by my work.
- At the end of a working day, I feel empty.
- I feel tired when I get up in the morning at the thought of starting work.
- It takes a lot out of me to work with people all day long.
- I feel completely exhausted by my work.
The possible responses are: never, several times a year, monthly, several times a month, weekly, several times a week, or every day. If someone’s average response to these statements is several times a month or more frequently, this person’s contribution is viewed as representing mental fatigue caused by work.