Stress in the workplace poses a threat to mental and physical health, and is associated with disability and high socioeconomic costs. Programs to combat stress and burnout are often offered by individual organizations for specific occupational groups, but those who are affected but cannot access such programs are left to their own devices. Self-help books could provide an affordable alternative to these programs that require expert administration or a therapist. However, the effectiveness of self-help books are seldom empirically examined.

More emotional flexibility to combat burnout

Together with the Institute for Work and Mental Health (INSAS) in Munich, researchers at the University of Basel have now, for the first time, examined the effectiveness of a self-help book on symptoms of stress and burnout without any therapist contact. People from various occupational groups with moderate and severe levels of stress were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The first group immediately began working with the self-help book for a duration of five weeks, while the second group received the book after the wait-list period.