Study Reveals Burnout Raises Suicide Risk by 77% Even Without Depression

A study has found that when employees suffer from burnout due to excessive stress, leading to physical and mental exhaustion, the risk of suicidal thoughts significantly increases regardless of whether they have depression.

On the 19th, a research team led by Professors Oh Dae-jong, Jeon Sang-won, and Cho Sung-jun of the Corporate Mental Health Research Institute at Gangbuk Samsung Hospital announced that they confirmed this fact by analyzing about 13,000 workers who used the Employee Mental Health Promotion Service from 2020 to 2022.

Burnout refers to a state of exhaustion due to the depletion of physical and emotional energy, a cynical attitude towards work and job, and a decrease in job efficacy. It is also a clinical syndrome listed in the International Classification of Diseases by the World Health Organization (WHO). Chronic exposure to job stress can lead to burnout.

The study was conducted by surveying and analyzing various occupational workers in manufacturing, finance, services, distribution, construction, and public administration on whether they have experienced burnout and considered suicide.

The results showed that even if employees experiencing burnout, particularly those with physical and mental exhaustion, do not have depression, the risk of contemplating suicide was 77% higher.

If they have depression, the risk of contemplating suicide increases by 36%. This results from analyzing the risk by excluding the risk of contemplating suicide due to depression and only considering burnout as the cause.

In particular, the study found that the risk of contemplating suicide increases when one cannot control their own tasks or if the workplace environment is not friendly.

Professor Oh advised, “This is the first large-scale cross-sectional study to confirm the association between burnout, depression, and suicidal thoughts across various occupations. It is necessary to closely observe the risk of suicidal thoughts in employees whose physical and mental energy are exhausted, regardless of whether they have depression.”

The study was published in the international academic journal Frontiers in Public Health.