• burnout
• gender
• ocupational medicine
• prevention strategies
• work-engagement. academic workers

Introduction. Burnout is recognized by the World Health Organization as a work-related stress syndrome, a concept introduced into the literature in the 1970s by Freudenberger and Maslach (1976). The dimensions of burnout are represented by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and dissatisfaction with self-realization. In contrast to burnout, there is the concept of work engagement, which is a positive psychological state related to work, with dimensions such as energy/vigor, absorption/dedication, and the perception of work effectiveness. Engagement and burnout can also be seen as two inverse elements of a single process. In recent years, we have witnessed profound changes across all work sectors, including universities, which can be defined as organizations with peculiar characteristics. The existing literature offers little information on what distinguishes the research environment from other workplaces or how mental health, stress, and more generally, well-being are defined in these contexts. Regarding gender, older studies tended to associate burnout with stress or negative emotional symptoms, and therefore believed burnout was more prevalent among women. Current evidence seems to refute this belief.
Objectives. This study aims to assess both burnout and work engagement levels in their three dimensions in a subpopulation of faculty members at the University of Pisa. The goal is to analyze gender differences in the expression of these work-related dimensions and how the two opposing constructs of burnout and engagement influence each other from a gender perspective.
Study hypothesis. Based on the data and knowledge from the literature, we developed two study hypotheses. H1: women experience higher levels of emotional exhaustion than men, and men experience higher levels of depersonalization than women. H2: subjects with higher levels of work engagement exhibit lower levels of burnout.
Methods. This is a prospective observational study aimed at evaluating gender differences regarding work activity in a population of university faculty members at the University of Pisa, using psychometric scales: the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS). The study also includes a data collection form with personal and job-related information. The data will be collected anonymously.
Results. The sample included 86 subjects, 51 women (59,30%) and 35 men (40,70%) with a total average age of 50,82 ± 7,602 years for men and 50,71 ± 10,388 years for women.
For the items assessing emotional exhaustion, evaluated by stratifying by gender, significant differences were found across various areas, especially in the items investigating:
Emotional exhaustion related to work, Item no. 1 (p-value of 0,022), Morning fatigue before going to work, Item no. 3 (p-value of 0,023), Work-related exhaustion, Item no. 8 (p-value of 0,017) , Feeling of working too hard, Item no. 14 (p-value of 0,015), Feeling of not being able to cope anymore, Item no. 20 (p-value of 0,009)
For the items assessing work engagement, evaluated by stratifying by gender, significant differences were found across various areas, especially in the items investigating: Immersed in work, Item no. 8 (p-value of 0,039), Completely absorbed when I work, Item no. 9 (p-value of 0,034)
For the items assessing functioning, evaluated by stratifying by gender, significant differences were found across various areas, especially in the items investigating: Household management has decreased, Item no. 2 (p-value of 0,038), Activities and free time has decreased, Item no. 3 (p-value of 0,021), Family time has decreased, Item no. 4 (p-value of 0,014)
Further emerged a negative correlation between burnout and work engagement (p of 0,001) and a positive correlation between the dimension of emotional exhaustion of burnout and personal functioning (p<0,001)
Conclusion. Burnout is currently considered one of the most significant psychosocial damages in modern society. The major limitation of our study is that it is a preliminary study with a limited sample, so our results can indicate a trend but are not generalizable. One strength, however, is that most studies have focused more specifically on young researchers (especially PhD students) and not on faculty members, although the literature shows that burnout tends to manifest more after at least 10 years of work activity. Additionally, most of the data we provide is based on surveys rather than clinical studies. Survey data indicate that the majority of university staff find their work stressful. Burnout levels appear to be higher among university staff compared to the general working population and are comparable to "high-risk" groups such as healthcare workers. The literature also suggests that this population is particularly prone to developing more significant mental health problems if stress factors are not addressed early. A recent review identified the following as major predictors of burnout and stress factors in academic environments: balancing family management, concomitant physical health issues, the increasing number of students, competitive peer dynamics, constant supervision and lack of decision-making autonomy, short-term contracts and financial instability, unclear role expectations, publication pressures and ethical conflicts, lack of social recognition, the pressure of administrative burdens, and dissatisfaction with leadership and management. Regarding gender, if we assume a vulnerability to different dimensions in line with gender role theory, which suggests that women are more likely to express feelings of emotional and physical exhaustion (emotional exhaustion) because they express their emotions, while men tend to withdraw under stress (depersonalization) because they tend to hide their emotions, we can assume that men's burnout in the workplace may not be adequately recognized. Higher levels of burnout result in increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, and a greater likelihood of developing psychological and physical disorders. Programs generally implemented to address this condition, whether preventive or curative, involve integrating interventions aimed at the individual with those targeting organizational aspects. Evidence from the literature suggests that the latter has a greater impact.