Background Job burnout is an early mental health condition caused by job stress and contributes to many negative effects on work and life. Employees of research and development (R&D) enterprises are exposed to constant pressure from innovation, production speed and sales expansion, and they are prone to burnout symptoms if such factors are not under effective control.

Objective To evaluate the current situation of job burnout among employees of R&D enterprises in Minhang District of Shanghai and explore its influencing factors.

Methods During November to December 2021, a cross-sectional study was developed and a convenient sampling method was used to enroll employees from 7 R&D enterprises in Minhang District of Shanghai. On the basis of voluntary participation with informed consent, a survey was conducted by using a self-made questionnaire (collecting data about general demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, behavior and lifestyle), the Chinese version of the Concise Occupational Stress Questionnaire, and the Chinese version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey. Occupational stress and its dimensions (job demand, job control, and social support) were divided into high, medium, and low levels according to tertiles. The positive rate of job burnout was reported according to score categorization (<1.5 refers to no job burnout, ≥1.5 refers to job burnout, where ≥1.5 and <3.5 refer to mild and moderate job burnout, and ≥3.5 refers to severe job burnout). Potential influencing factors of job burnout were evaluated by using one-way ANOVA, chi-square test, forward stepwise regression, and non-conditional binary logistic regression (α=0.05, two-sided test).

Results A total of 3153 subjects were enrolled and 3014 samples were included in the analysis, with a valid response rate of 95.6%. Among the included subjects, 888 (29.46%) reported no job burnout, 1775 (58.89%) reported mild to moderate job burnout, and 351 (11.64%) reported severe job burnout. The mean of total job burnout score was 2.17±1.12, and the dimentional mean scores were 2.78±1.61 for emotional exhaustion, 1.60±1.60 for cynicism, and 4.05±1.57 for diminished personal accomplishment. Varied categories of sex, age, marital status, working position, sleep status, job demand, job control, and social support groups of workers resulted in significant differences in job burnout score. Compared with the low job demand group, the positive rate of job burnout was elevated in the medium and high job demand groups; the risk of job burnout in the medium job demand group was 1.42 (95%CI: 1.04-1.94) times higher, and that in the high job demand group was 2.64 (95% CI : 2.17-3.22) times higher versus the low job demand group. The risk of job burnout in the medium job control group was 1.35 (95%CI: 1.06-1.72) times higher versus the low job control group. Compared with the low social support group, job burnout was less reported in the other groups, and the OR (95%CI) values of the medium and high social support groups were 0.41 (0.31-0.53) and 0.15 (0.12-0.19) respectively.

Conclusion The rate of reporting positive job burnout in R&D enterprises is high, which deserves sufficient attention. Relieving work pressure, increasing job control and social support, and maintaining adequate sleep are helpful to reduce job burnout.