Abstract:

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare levels of fatigue, burnout and quality of life Professors and other lecturers.Material and Methods: The study was performed on professors (Group 1, n=50) and other lecturers (Group 2, n=52) who are working at Kırıkkale University. Turkish versions of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) were used to assess the fatigue level and burnout status, respectively. MBI measures burnout on three separate subscales: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment. The level of health-related quality of life of individuals was assessed by the Turkish version of WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. The questionnaire includes physical health, psychological health, social relationships, environment, and national environmental subscales. Results: The mean age of individuals was 42.8±7.8 years in the first group, 32.6±8.9 years in the second group. 35 of professors (70%) were male while others are female (30%). In Group 2, 28 subjects (53.8%) were female and 24 subjects (46.2%) were male. Age, body mass index, duration of working and gender were statistically different significantly (p <0.05) between groups. After controlling statistically for these variables, there were no statistically significant differences for scores of FSS, all dimensions scores of MBI, and sub-scales scores of WHOQOL-BREF between the groups (p> 0.05). Conclusions: Despite differences in age and years of working as well as the powers and responsibilities, academicians have similar fatigue, burnout, and health-related quality of life levels. This result seems to be concern for young academicians is relatively early in their profession. However, after professors, some factors such as professional advancement in a hierarchical order, relatively more independent working opportunities, economic recovery and job satisfaction are thought to inhibit deterioration fatigue, burnout, and increasing levels of health-related quality of life of professors. However, other factors which can affect the results should not be ignored.

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