Publications

Epigenetic perspective on the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in burnout

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a potential role in the neurobiology of burnout, but there are no studies investigating the underlying genetic and epigenetic mechanisms. Our aim is to further explore the role of BDNF in burnout, by focusing on the Val66Met polymorphism and methylation patterns of the BDNF gene and serum BDNF (sBDNF) protein expression. We conducted a cross-sectional study by recruiting 129 individuals (59 with burnout and 70 healthy controls). Participants underwent a clinical interview, psychological assessment and blood sample collection. Polymorphism and DNA methylation were measured on DNA from whole blood, using pyrosequencing and sBDNF levels were measured using ELISA. We found significantly increased methylation of promoter I and IV in the burnout group, which also correlated with burnout symptoms. In addition, DNA methylation of promoter I had a significant negative effect on sBDNF. For DNA methylation of exon IX, we did not find a significant difference between the groups, nor associations with sBDNF. The Val66Met polymorphism neither differed between groups, nor was it associated with sBDNF levels. Finally, we did not observe differences in sBDNF level between the groups. Interestingly, we observed a significant negative association between depressive symptoms and sBDNF levels. The current study is the first to show that BDNF DNA methylation changes might play an important role in downregulation of the BDNF protein levels in burnout. The presence of depressive symptoms might have an additional impact on these changes.

From Motivation to Activation: Why Engaged Workers are Better Performers

No abstract is provided for this article.

Understanding workaholism and work engagement: the role of mood and stop rules

Purpose This study aims at disentangling the different underlying motivations that drive workaholic and engaged employees to work excessively hard. The Mood as Input (MAI) model serves as an explanatory framework. The MAI model assumes that, dependent on the stop rule used, a different mood state may lead to persistence. When individuals evaluate whether they still enjoy an activity (an enjoyment stop rule), a positive mood would signal enjoyment, resulting in persistence. On the other hand, when individuals evaluate whether they have done enough (an enough stop rule), a negative mood would signal discontentment, which would also result in persistence. Design/methodology/approach A survey study ( n =173) was conducted to test the applicability of the MAI model to the work context. Findings It was hypothesized and found that workaholism is positively related to negative mood and using an enough stop rule to determine when to stop working. In addition, this study showed that work engagement is related to positive mood. The findings did not support the expectation that work engagement is related to using an enjoyment stop rule to determine when to stop working. In conclusion, the results indicate that both mood and stop rules may be useful for explaining the difference in motivation to work persistently between workaholism and work engagement. Originality/value The paper advances the understanding of reasons to work hard which are related to work engagement and workaholism. Knowledge about the reasons why employees work hard can help professionals to prevent workaholism, thereby stimulating healthy and enduring careers.

Who is Engaged at Work?

The aim was to investigate differences in the levels of work engagement across demographic and work- and organization-related factors, and their relative importance for work engagement.The study was on the basis of a sample of 17,498 male and 17,897 female employees from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey collected in 2015. Linear regression models and dominance analysis were used.Several significant differences were observed between the levels of work engagement in different demographic and work- and organization-related groups. Employees working in human service occupations reported higher levels of work engagement than employees in other industries. Relatively, occupational group (68%) and industry (17%) contributed most to work engagement.It is important to focus on enhancing work engagement, particularly among less educated employees, among those with nonpermanent contracts, and in certain occupations.

Epithelial tension controls intestinal cell extrusion

Cell extrusion is essential for homeostatic self-renewal of the intestinal epithelium. Extrusion is thought to be triggered by crowding-induced compression of cells at the intestinal villus tip. In this study, we found instead that a local “tug-of-war” competition between contractile cells regulated extrusion in the intestinal epithelium. We combined quantitative live microscopy, optogenetic induction of tissue tension, genetic perturbation of myosin II activity, and local disruption of the basal cortex in mouse intestines and intestinal organoids. These approaches revealed that a dynamic actomyosin network generates tension throughout the intestinal villi, including the villus tip region. Mechanically weak cells unable to maintain this tension underwent extrusion. Thus, epithelial barrier integrity depends on intercellular mechanics.

Burnout Contagion Among General Practitioners

This study used a representative sample of 507 general practitioners (GPs) to test the hypothesis that burnout is contagious. Following a two-dimensional conceptualization of burnout, it is assumed that burnout is comprised of emotional exhaustion and negative attitudes (i.e., depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment). We hypothesized that perceived burnout complaints among colleagues and susceptibility to emotional contagion would make an independent contribution to explaining variance in negative attitudes through their influence on emotional exhaustion. The findings of a series of LISREL-analyses support this burnout contagion model. In addition, susceptibility to the emotions expressed by others had a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived burnout complaints among colleagues and individual GPs' emotional exhaustion: Burnout contagion was most pronounced among those GPs who were, in general, highly susceptible to emotional stimuli. These findings, as well as possible routes to burnout contagion are discussed in terms of recent theoretical work on emotional contagion.

Intra-tumour diversification in colorectal cancer at the single-cell level

Perceiving the causes of unemployment: An evaluation of the Causal Dimensions Scale in a real-life situation.

No abstract is provided for this article.

Differential transcriptional invasion signatures from patient derived organoid models define a functional prognostic tool for head and neck cancer

Le traitement du burnout, partie 1: principes fondamentaux

Le burnout est un syndrome d’épuisement lié au stress, qui survient dans le cadre d’un stress chronique sur le lieu de travail et constitue un facteur de risque de maladies psychiatriques et somatiques subséquentes.

Urothelial organoids: a novel culture method for bladder cancer

De psychologie van arbeid en gezondheid

No abstract is provided for this article.

Attachment Styles and Employee Performance: The Mediating Role of Burnout

Researchers are becoming increasingly interested in how early experiences within the family are relevant to an individual's behavior at work. Drawing on Bowlby's attachment theory, the present study addresses this topic by examining the relationship between attachment in adulthood and job performance, and the mediating role of burnout in that relationship. We used data from two samples (201 Dutch employees and 178 Romanian working students) and structural equation modeling to test this mediation model and its possible invariance across both samples. The results showed that in both samples, attachment-related anxiety was positively related to burnout, which was in turn negatively related to job performance. Attachment-related avoidance was not significantly associated with burnout or performance. These results were similar in both samples, thus increasing their validity. The results suggest that childhood and early socialization experiences play a role in shaping the employee's behavior and well-being at work. The study is one of the few examining attachment styles in relation to burnout and performance.

Crafting a job daily: Contextual antecedents and the effect on work engagement

Data from <i>Frizzled-7</i> Is Required for Wnt Signaling in Gastric Tumors with and Without <i>Apc</i> Mutations

<div>Abstract<p>A subset of patients with gastric cancer have mutations in genes that participate in or regulate Wnt signaling at the level of ligand (Wnt) receptor (Fzd) binding. Moreover, increased Fzd expression is associated with poor clinical outcome. Despite these findings, there are no <i>in vivo</i> studies investigating the potential of targeting Wnt receptors for treating gastric cancer, and the specific Wnt receptor transmitting oncogenic Wnt signaling in gastric cancer is unknown. Here, we use inhibitors of Wnt/Fzd (OMP-18R5/vantictumab) and conditional gene deletion to test the therapeutic potential of targeting Wnt signaling in preclinical models of intestinal-type gastric cancer and <i>ex vivo</i> organoid cultures. Pharmacologic targeting of Fzd inhibited the growth of gastric adenomas <i>in vivo</i>. We identified Fzd7 to be the predominant Wnt receptor responsible for transmitting Wnt signaling in human gastric cancer cells and mouse models of gastric cancer, whereby Fzd7-deficient cells were retained in gastric adenomas but were unable to respond to Wnt signals and consequently failed to proliferate. Genetic deletion of <i>Fzd7</i> or treatment with vantictumab was sufficient to inhibit the growth of gastric adenomas with or without mutations to <i>Apc</i>. Vantictumab is currently in phase Ib clinical trials for advanced pancreatic, lung, and breast cancer. Our data extend the scope of patients that may benefit from this therapeutic approach as we demonstrate that this drug will be effective in treating patients with gastric cancer regardless of <i>APC</i> mutation status.</p>Significance:<p>The Wnt receptor Fzd7 plays an essential role in gastric tumorigenesis irrespective of <i>Apc</i> mutation status, therefore targeting Wnt/Fzd7 may be of therapeutic benefit to patients with gastric cancer.</p></div>

Testing the robustness of the job demands-resources model.

According to the job demands–resources (JD–R) model, job demands and resources evoke two relatively independent processes: health impairment and employee motivation. The robustness of the JD–R model was tested in two different occupational samples, the first of 654 Spanish employees and the second of 477 Dutch employees. Structural equation modeling analyses provided partial evidence for the two processes. Multigroup analyses showed that the structural paths of the model were invariant across countries, although the strength of the relationships differed. We conclude that the basic structure of the JD–R model is maintained, even when applied in different national and occupational contexts, when using different ways of gathering data (computerized versus paper and pencil), and when using slightly different measures to assess the key variables of the model.

The job demands-resources model of burnout.

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model proposes that working conditions can be categorized into 2 broad categories, job demands and job resources. that are differentially related to specific outcomes. A series of LISREL analyses using self-reports as well as observer ratings of the working conditions provided strong evidence for the JD-R model: Job demands are primarily related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas (lack of) job resources are primarily related to disengagement. Highly similar patterns were observed in each of 3 occupational groups: human services, industry, and transport (total N = 374). In addition, results confirmed the 2-factor structure (exhaustion and disengagement) of a new burnout instrument--the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory--and suggested that this structure is essentially invariant across occupational groups.

Burnout en profesores: Una perspectiva social del intercambio

This article proposes a theoretical perspective on teacher burnout that is based on the principles of social exchange. More specifically, it is argued that burnout results from a lack of reciprocity; that is, from a mismatch between investments and outcomes. Typically, burned-out teachers have given too much long and received too little too late. According to social exchange theory, lack of reciprocity may develop at three levels: at the interpersonal level in the relationships with students, at the team level in the relationships with colleagues, and the organizational level in the relationship with the school. A series of colleagues, and at the organizational level in the relationship with the school. A series of empirical studies among teachers showed that, indeed, the balance of give and take is disturbed, particularly as far as the interpersonal and organizational levels are concerned. Furthermore, lack of reciprocity at all three levels of social exchange is associated with both distress and withdrawal. More specifically, a generic effect is observed; when the balance of give and take is disturbed at any level of social exchange emotional exhaustion develops, the core symptom of burnout. In addition, specific withdrawal effects are observed for each level of social exchange: lack of reciprocity with students results in depersonalization, the second hallmark of burnout; lack of reciprocity with colleagues results in withdrawal from colleagues; and lack of reciprocity with the school results in psychological (reduced organizational commitment) and behavioral (sickness absenteeism) withdrawal from the school