2023 - Ijsmt

International Journal of Scientific Management and Tourism
Curitiba, v.9, n.4, p. 2421-2450, 2023
ISSN: 2386-8570
“From resistance to exhaustion”: defense strategies, sociodemographic

variables and fighting Burnout Syndrome in banking professionals
"Da resistência à exaustão": estratégias de defesa, variáveis

sociodemográficas e combate à Síndrome de Burnout em profissionais
do setor bancário
DOI: 10.55905/ijsmtv9n4-024
Recebimento dos originais: 24/07/2023

Aceitação para publicação: 22/08/2023
Rayssa Cleide de Oliveira

Master degree in Administration
Institution: Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido
Address: R. Francisco Mota, 572, Pres. Costa e Silva, Mossoró - RN, CEP: 59625-900
E-mail: rayssa_cleide@hotmail.com
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9482-2627
Agostinha Mafalda Barra de Oliveira

Ph.D. in Social Psychology and Anthropology of Organizations
E-mail: agostinhamafalda@ufersa.edu.br
Juliana Carvalho de Sousa

Ph.D. in Business Administration
Institution: Faculdade de Educação e Ciências Integradas do Sertão de Canindé
Address: Av. Dr. Aramis Paiva, 460, Centro, Canindé - CE, CEP: 62700-000
E-mail: juli.cs1009@gmail.com
Miriam Karla Rocha

Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering
E-mail: miriam.rocha@ufersa.edu.br
ABSTRACT
This study aims to verify the relationship between Burnout Syndrome (BS) and
sociodemographic and functional variables and the use of defense strategies by
professionals in the banking sector. Therefore, descriptive research of the survey type
with a quantitative approach was conducted. Two hundred sixty-two bank employees
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answered the Sociodemographic and Functional Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout
Inventory – General Survey, available on Google Forms. Based on the logistic regression
analyses performed for each BS dimension, the gender variable is significant for
predicting the reduced professional achievement dimension. Individualism and denial
strategies are significant for predicting the emotional exhaustion dimensions and
depersonalization. With these data, this study is expected to alert bank managers to invest
in their professionals’ physical and mental health.
Keywords: Burnout Syndrome, banking sector, defense strategies, sociodemographic

variables, mental health.
RESUMO
Este estudo tem como objetivo verificar a relação entre a Síndrome de Burnout (SB) e
variáveis sociodemográficas e funcionais e o uso de estratégias de defesa por profissionais
do setor bancário. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa descritiva do tipo survey com
abordagem quantitativa. Duzentos e sessenta e dois bancários responderam ao
Questionário Sociodemográfico e Funcional e ao Maslach Burnout Inventory -
Questionário Geral, disponíveis no Google Forms. Com base nas análises de regressão
logística realizadas para cada dimensão do BS, a variável gênero é significativa para
prever a dimensão de realização profissional reduzida. O individualismo e as estratégias
de negação são significativos para prever as dimensões de exaustão emocional e
despersonalização. Com esses dados, espera-se que este estudo alerte os gerentes de
bancos para que invistam na saúde física e mental de seus profissionais.
Palavras-chave: Síndrome de Burnout, setor bancário, estratégias de defesa, variáveis

sociodemográficas, saúde mental.
1 INTRODUCTION
The concern for mental health within organizations is increasingly gaining
strength in a scenario where mental disorders are no longer seen as something superficial
(Freitas & Silva, 2019). The tension and stress experienced in the work environment have
increased the rate of occupational illnesses of a psychic nature. Burnout syndrome (BS),
a variant of occupational stress, is an example of a mental disorder at work (Jacquet et
al., 2015; Maresca et al., 2022; Moro et al., 2022). BS is a depressive psychic disorder
with symptoms similar to anxiety, stress, and panic syndrome (Ilhomjonova & Ochilova,
2022). Its symptoms can be perceived in connection with the individual’s professional
life (National Association of Occupational Medicine (ANAMT, 2021; OPAS, 2019). BS
happens as a worker’s response to the demands imposed in their work environments.
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ANAMT (2021) also highlighted that, in 2019, BS was included in the 11th
Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) of the World Health
Organization (WHO), in a list that entered into force in 2022, classifying it as a disease
associated exclusively with the work context due to the chronic stress to which
professionals are exposed in their work environments (PAHO, 2019).
Maslach and Jackson (1981) explained that BS could manifest itself in three
dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced professional
achievement. The first dimension is emotional exhaustion, which is linked to loss of
energy, and the feeling of being depleted, overwhelmed, and exhausted psychologically
and physically. The second dimension, depersonalization, also known as cynicism, refers
to an emotional hardness or coldness, which leads individuals to treat people, such as their
customers and colleagues, with indifference, without the ability to empathize with others.
The third dimension concerns reduced professional achievement, in which the individual
evaluates his work negatively and feels unable to perform his tasks (Ilhomjonova &
Ochilova, 2022; Maslach et al., 2001; Rotstein et al., 2019; Schaufeli et al., 2009).
BS is linked to all sectors of work-related activities and professions and is present
in all organizations, whether in the private or public sector (Troyer, 2012). However, it
mainly affects professionals who work directly and intensely with others (Dias &
Angélico, 2018). With that in mind, Bloise (2009) explained that the professions most
exposed to BS are those of treatments, such as doctors, psychologists and educators, and
services, such as banking (Kyaw, 2022). In agreement with Bloise (2009), Dias and
Angélico (2018) and Tafi et al. (2022), since bank workers are evaluated as an
occupational group with a high risk of developing BS, the focus of this work will be on
this group; in this case, workers in the banking sector (Wiesyk & Pludowska, 2022).
In addition to this functional factor, other sociodemographic factors, such as
gender and age, may also be associated with the prevalence of BS (Vilaça et al., 2021).
Such factors, associated with sources of stress from the work context, can contribute to
the onset or worsening of BS. In the meantime, it remains for professionals in this sector
to find defense strategies that can mitigate the suffering caused by these factors (Areosa,
2019; Dejours, 2003; Mendes, 1995/1996).
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Banking work and BS in workers in this sector have attracted the attention of many
researchers. Valente et al. (2016) investigated the relationship between burnout
symptoms and the condition of the work environment of these professionals, and Khalid
et al. (2020) performed a similar analysis on bank workers in Pakistan. Kiseleva (2018)
investigated the prevalence of BS in bank employees interacting directly with customers.
These articles provided relevant contributions. However, no research correlated bank
employees to defense strategies concerning BS.
Based on the above, and bearing in mind that the organizational dynamics and the
geographic context can also contribute to the prevalence of psychological distress at work,
the objective is to verify the relationship between BS and sociodemographic and
functional variables and the use of defense strategies of professionals in the banking
sector. Two contributions emerge from this research: a theoretical approach not yet
explored in the literature, and the results of this study, which can contribute to clarifying
how BS affects these professionals and open space for other discussions based on more
critical analyses regarding this syndrome in banking institutions.
2 STUDY HYPOTHESES
2.1 SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
Sociodemographic variables appear as risk factors in the origin and evolution of
BS. According to Marinaccio et al. (2013), sociodemographic variables, such as age and
gender, have been increasingly associated with the prevalence of BS.
2.1.1 Age
Age can determine the progression of BS (Maslach et al., 2001; Santos, 2020). It
happens due to the differences between younger and older professionals regarding
expectations, experiences, and maturity to deal with stressors in the work context (Ahola
& Hakanen, 2007; Boštjančič et al., 2015).
Studies carried out with bank employees (Amigo et al., 2014; Carneiro, 2019;
Cerqueira, 2016; Li et al., 2015; Macedo, 2015; Santos, 2020; Tafi et al., 2022) and
studies carried out with other occupational groups (Carvalho, 2020; Ferreira & Lucca,
2015; Silva et al., 2015), identified that the age group that is most exposed to the
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prevalence of BS is that between 30 and 40 years. In another study, the age group most
likely to develop the syndrome is between 41 and 51 years old (Vilaça et al., 2021).
Based on the results of the studies presented, we observed that, depending on the
characteristics of the study, a certain age group is more susceptible to BS than others,
which leads to Hypothesis 1 (H1):
H1: The variable concerning age is significant for predicting the BS levels of
professionals in the banking sector.
2.1.2 Gender
Gender-related issues can significantly influence individuals’ illness (Wu et al.,
2013). Historically, in addition to biological characteristics and differences in ways of
expressing oneself emotionally, there is an inequality in the social roles developed by
men and women concerning household chores, care for children and the elderly, as well
as related to career opportunities in the labor market (Jablonski, 2010; Maslach &
Jackson, 1985).
Studies conducted with bank employees in this scenario identified that women
become mentally ill more frequently than men (Amigo et al., 2014; Carneiro, 2019;
Cerqueira, 2016; Li et al., 2015; Macedo, 2015; Santos, 2020). In addition to this
occupational group, studies conducted with other occupational groups also reached the
same result (Nascimento et al., 2021; Salvaro & Mariano, 2021).
In contrast, studies with other occupational groups (Carlotto et al., 2014, Nágime
et al., 2020) identified that men have higher levels of depersonalization and lack of
personal fulfillment than women, which leads to Hypothesis 2 (H2) for this investigation:
H2: The variable concerning gender is significant for predicting the BS levels of
professionals in the banking sector.
2.2 FUNCTIONAL VARIABLE

Bearing that the work context contributes to the relationship of pleasure and
suffering experienced by an individual in their work environment (Dejours, 2003), the
variable concerning constitution, either in the public or private sector, may be associated
with the prevalence of BS.
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2.2.1 Constitution
To Dias and Angélico (2018), in Brazil, there is a difference between the
constitutions, that is, public and private banking institutions, that must be understood.
Among these differences, the main one is the stability of public banks, as opposed to
private banks (Carneiro, 2019; Cerqueira, 2016; Vilaça et al., 2021). Furthermore, the
private sector’s work is considered more burdensome than the public sector, which is
because there is greater pressure for goals (Macedo, 2015), in addition to uncertainties
regarding their future and career in the organization (Cerqueira, 2016; Resende &
Mendes, 2004; Santos, 2020; Vilaça et al. 2021).
For these reasons, data from studies with bank employees suggest that private
organizations’ employees have higher rates of emotional exhaustion and
depersonalization, while public organization workers have higher levels of reduced
professional achievement (Carneiro, 2019; Cerqueira, 2016; Vilaça et al., 2021).
In this sense, work contexts, whether in private or public banking institutions, can
contribute to the prevalence of BS. Based on the above, we established Hypothesis 3 (H3)
for this investigation:
H3: The variable concerning constitution is significant for predicting the BS
levels of professionals in the banking sector.
2.3 DEFENSE STRATEGIES

With the pressures within organizations and the suffering generated at work,
professionals create defense strategies to minimize the perception of what makes them
suffer in the work environment and thus protect their psychic apparatus (Amorim et al.,
2021).
Defense strategies are considered a “protective shield” that individuals use to
minimize their suffering (Areosa, 2019). Thus, according to Dejours et al. (1994), defense
strategies make work bearable and possible for workers. In other words, workers use
defense strategies to face their daily suffering, as they help maintain psychic balance by
promoting resources to overcome this suffering (Mendes et al., 2003; Wegwu, 2022).
It is important to point out that these defense strategies, whether individual or
collective, are used for coping, denial, and mediation of suffering; they do not concretely
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modify the reality of professionals since it is a mental and unconscious process. In this
sense, defense strategies help in psychic balance, providing resources to overcome
suffering, but do not have the role of collective mobilization. The strategies are
mechanisms that do not interfere with the context since the stressors remain in the
environment until this context is modified (Dejours, 1999; Mendes, 1995/1995; Mendes
et al., 2003).
Studies with bank employees show they also use defense strategies (Ferreira,
2007; Mendes, 1995/1996; Resende & Mendes, 2004; MACEDO, 2015; MATTOS,
2016). Among the most used are individualism (Mendes, 1995/1996; Resende & Mendes,
2004), denial (Ferreira, 2007; Macedo, 2015; Mattos, 2016), passivity (Mendes
1995/1996), and rationalization (Ferreira, 2007; Mendes 1995/1996; Macedo, 2015;
Mattos, 2016). For this study, these will be the defense strategies considered for analysis.
Therefore, they will be detailed below.
2.3.1 Individualism
Individualism is the naturalization of current ways and facts of work situations,
which lead the professional to isolation without considering the cause of these events.
The professional begins to isolate himself from everyone, as he feels distrust, lack of
solidarity and hypocrisy, among other symptoms. He creates his world and starts acting
individually (Mendes, 1995/1996).
In the face of bank work, individualism can be a collective strategy, encouraged
by his co-workers, making competitions, in the sense of showing who is most sought after
in the branches, who is more organized and who has a larger customer base, all of this
without asking others for help (Resende & Mendes, 2004).
Based on the above, we established Hypothesis 4 (H4) for this investigation:
H4: The variable concerning the use of individualism as a defense strategy is
significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector.
2.3.2 Denial
Denial is when the individual seeks to deny reality as if it did not exist. The
individual considers a thought/feeling to be non-existent, which, if he admitted it, would
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cause him much pain. The individual uses this strategy to deny an unpleasant or
undesirable part of external reality, either through a fantasy of satisfaction or through their
behavior (Freud, 2006).
Denial is considered as an individual’s conscious rejection to perceive disturbing
facts. It extracts from the individual the necessary perception to deal with external
challenges and the ability to use adequate survival strategies (Freire & Elias, 2017).
To Ferreira (2007), Macedo (2015), and Mattos (2016), the professional denies
that the problem is a failure of the company and seeks professional adequacy to meet
goals and grow within the organization.
H5: The variable concerning denial as a defense strategy is significant for
predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector.
2.3.3 Passivity
Passivity is when the professional denies his perception of reality. It is an
accommodation behavior to explain changes not made in work situations (Mendes,
1995/1996). Professionals create conformist attitudes to protect themselves from new
disappointments since changes were attempted within the organization and were not
accepted by these professionals (Perez, 2012).
To Dejours (1999), passivity is linked to the lack of alternatives and manifests as
a silent resignation and consented service. According to Mendes (1995/1996), this
strategy is considered harmful to change processes, as the professional cannot identify
what causes their suffering in the organization, so he does not expose his sufferings to co-
workers and feels rid of responsibility for justifying passivity to all co-workers.
H6: The variable concerning passivity as a defense strategy is significant for
2.3.4 Rationalization
Rationalization is when the individual tries to give a plausible justification for a
certain situation or suffering caused by either his/her thinking or behavior inconsistent
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with his/her values and moral principles. In other words, the individual tries to give an
acceptable explanation for his actions, ideas, feelings and behaviors, and his real motives
are not perceived (Febriana & Darma, 2022; Jain & Sinha, 2022; Mendes, 1995/1996).
According to Mendes (1995/1996), rationalization is used in the face of
frustrations to explain more precisely the reasons that cause these workers to suffer, such
as the division between planning and execution and the disruption of psycho-affective
relationships with their colleagues. To Seligmann-Silva (2011), this mechanism is
unconsciously used by workers, and the purpose of its use is to hide painful experiences.
H7: The variable concerning rationalization as a defense strategy is significant for
3 METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES
To test the established hypotheses that the levels of BS of professionals in the
banking sector are dependent on the variables concerning age, gender, constitution, and
use of defense strategies, we carried out descriptive research (Neuman, 2013) of a
quantitative nature (Bryman, 2017) by the survey method (Humeau-Heurtier, 2019).
Below is a detail of the methodological procedures conducted in this research, which
comprehends six steps.
3.1 SAMPLE SELECTION

The study population is bank professionals from the State of Rio Grande do Norte
from public and private financial institutions. The number of bank employees is
approximately 3,010 professionals who work throughout the state. The RN Bank
Workers’ Union representatives verbally provided this data. At the end of the collection,
262 completed and valid questionnaires were obtained. This sample size is representative
of the estimated population, with a confidence level of 95% and an estimation error of
6% (Cohen, 2013).
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3.2 PREPARATION OF COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

The participants answered two data collection instruments to conduct the study: the
Sociodemographic and Functional Questionnaire (SFQ) and the Maslach Burnout
Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS).
The SFQ was prepared by the author and is composed of questions of a personal
nature, which questioned the bank employees about age and gender and the constitution of
the bank where they work, whether public or private, among other issues to characterize
the sample. These questions enable the identification of one or more defense strategies,
either individualism, denial, passivity, or rationalization (Mendes, 1995/1996). Such items
are shown in Table 1.
Table 1 SFQ items

Items
1 - Select your Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )
2 - What is your age (full years)? __________________
3 - Do you work in a public or private bank? Public ( ) Private ( )
4- Is the agency you work for located in the interior of RN or the capital of RN?
Interior ( ) Capital ( )
5- Name the city where you work: ________________
6- Time working as a banker (full years): _____________
7- What is the number of employees/servants in your agency? _____________
8- What is your role in the agency? ______________
9- Do you have a managerial role? Yes ( ) No ( )
10- What is your position? ______________
Individualism 11- Do you feel suspicious of your co-workers and prefer to act individually in your
agency?
Yes ( ) No ( )
Denial 12- Have you ever been reluctant/resistant to assuming an event for yourself and others
because you believed it would be easier not to deal with certain situations?
Yes ( ) No ( )
Passivity 13- Do you feel that you are uninterested in your work?
Yes ( ) No ( )
Rationaliza- 14- In the face of adverse situations, do you always find a justification to simplify/sof-
tion ten?
Yes ( ) No ( )
Source: Designed by the authors (2022).
While the MBI-GS instrument was developed by Maslach and Jackson (1985) and
adapted by Cerqueira (2016) for the reality of bank employees in Brazil, it is used to
measure burnout in any occupational work context. This instrument contains 22 closed
questions that address the three dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, 9 items;
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depersonalization, 5 items; and reduced professional achievement, 8 items, as shown in

Table 2.
Table 2 MBI-GS Items by Dimension

Dimensions Items
Emotional exhaustion I feel emotionally let down by my job.
I feel drained when I finish my workday.
I feel fatigued when I get up and face another day at work.
I feel that working with people every day makes me tired.
I feel that my job is wearing me out.
I feel frustrated by my job.
I feel as if I am working too hard at my job.
I feel that working in direct contact with people stresses me out.
I feel as if I am at the end of my possibilities.
Depersonalization I feel that I am treating some recipients of my work as if they were
impersonal objects.
I feel I have become harder on people since I started this job.
I worry about this job because it is hardening me emotionally.
I feel that I really do not care what happens to the people I must work
with professionally.
It seems to me that the recipients of my work blame me for some of
their problems.
Reduced professional I feel I can easily understand how the people I must deal with feel
achievement about things.
I feel that I deal very effectively with the problems of the people with
whom I must deal.
I feel that I am positively influencing people’s lives through my work.
I feel very vigorous in my work.
I feel that I can easily create a pleasant climate with the recipients of
my work.
I feel encouraged after working directly with those with whom I must
deal.
I think I get a lot of valuable things out of this job.
In my work, I deal with emotional problems very calmly.
Source: Adapted from Cerqueira (2016).
All items in this instrument follow a Likert scale with alternatives from 0 to 6, in
which the respondent needs to mark according to the frequency in which the feelings
related to the proposed statements are manifested, being 0 - never, 1 - a few times a year,
2 - at least once a month, 3 - a few times a month, 4 - once a week, 5 - a few times a week,
and 6 - every day.
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3.3 DATA COLLECTION

Data collection was conducted online, which allowed bank access from all over
the state promptly and provided convenience to respondents. Thus, the questionnaires
were inserted into Google Forms, and the link to this form was made available via state
bank groups on social networks, such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Instagram. The
collection took place during the 30 days of October 2022.
3.4 DATA VALIDATION AND EXPLORATION

Google Forms provides an Excel spreadsheet containing all the participants’
responses, and when data collection ended, this spreadsheet was numerically coded; that
is, all responses received numerical codes according to their respective items.
Initially, the reliability of the MBI-GS was verified by calculating Cronbach’s
alpha (Amirrudin et al., 2021). Hair et al. (2009) argue that this is the best reliability
measurement coefficient, where their values range from 0 to 1; the closer to 1, the greater
the reliability between the indicators. The values obtained for all items of the MBI-GS as
well as its subscales, referring to the items of each BS dimension, were all greater than
0.800, which means a high level of reliability between the items of the full scale and of
each subscale (Amirrudin et al., 2021; Hair et al., 2009).
Next, simple descriptive statistics were made to trace the sociodemographic and
functional profile of the banking category, measure the level of BS in each dimension and
identify the frequency of use of defense strategies, which include mean, standard
deviation, frequency, and percentage.
The data extracted from the MBI-GS was analyzed to identify the incidence level
of each BS dimension presented by the bank employees based on a Standardized Score
(Sp). For this, the sum of the values answered in each item was added, and this value was
divided by the number of items in the subscale, subtracted from 1. This result was
multiplied by 20; that is, the calculation was made using the following formula:
∑ 𝑉𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑑
𝑆𝑝𝔦 = 20 . ( ) , 𝑖 = 1,2,3.
No. of items informed − 1
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In this formula, “i” indicates the number of subscales whose Sp will be calculated,
allowing the formula to be replicated in the three MBI-GS subscales. Thus, Sp1 refers to
the “emotional exhaustion” subscale score; Sp2 to the “depersonalization” subscale score;
and Sp3 to the “reduced professional achievement” subscale score (Goulart, 2014).
To classify the level per subscale as high or low, bank employees with a score of
up to 50% were considered to have a low level in that subscale and above that value to
have a high level in the subscale in question (Goulart, 2014).
3.5 HYPOTHESES TESTING

Next, to meet the last two specific objectives, that is, to relate the
sociodemographic and functional profile and the use of defense strategies with the level
of BS, as well as to assess the hypotheses of this study, logistic regression analyses were
performed for each of the BS dimensions (Hosmer et al., 2013).
For this study, the dependent output variable is a dichotomous or binary
categorical variable, referring to the level of burnout in each dimension (emotional
exhaustion, depersonalization, reduced professional achievement), considered as high or
low; and as predictor or independent variables, such as age (full years), gender (male or
female) of the respondents, the constitution of the financial institution in which the
respondent works (public or private), and the use of defense strategies: individualism,
denial, passivity and rationalization (yes or no). These analyses were performed using the
Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)®️ analysis software, version 21.
3.6 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

From the previous step’s results, the confirmation or not of each hypothesis in this
study was discussed in the light of the theoretical framework in the form of a comparison
with the results presented in other studies on the subject.
To enable a greater understanding of the methodological procedures conducted,
Table 3 provides a summary of each step.
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Table 3 Summary of methodological procedures

Step 1 Two hundred sixty-two bank employees in Rio Grande do Norte from public
Sample selection and private financial institutions.
Representative sample at the confidence level of 95% and estimation error
of 6%.
Step 2 Sociodemographic and Functional Questionnaire (SFQ).
Preparation of collec- Maslach Burnout Inventory – General Survey (MBI-GS).
tion tools
Step 3 Google Forms.
Data collection Link sent by social networks and available for 30 days.
Step 4 MBI-GS reliability analysis.
Data validation and ex- Standardized score calculation (Sp).
ploration Classification of burnout dimensions as high or low.
Step 5 Logistic Regression Analyzes for each of the burnout dimensions.
Test of hypotheses
Step 6 Appreciation of the results considering the literature on the subject.
Discussion of the re-
sults
Finally, it should be noted that this study complies with Resolution CNS no.
510/16, which deals with ethics in research with human beings (Brasil, 2016). In this
sense, the Ethics Committee of the State University of Rio Grande approved the project
of this study do Norte (UERN), with CAAE number 59824822.0.0000.5294.
4 PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
4.1 SAMPLE CHARACTERIZATION
The sample of this study is predominantly male (68.6%). This data portrays the
reality of financial institutions, where men are predominant, bearing in mind that men
still occupy more than half of positions in the banking sector, compared to women.
However, the increase of these women in banks is already remarkable (Faria, 2005).
Regarding age, respondents are between 21 and 69 years old, with an average of 36 years
old.
There is a wide variation in the banking sector’s operation time, between less than
1 year and 48 years. However, even with this variation, this data reveals that the vast
majority have extensive professional experience, with an average of more than 11 years.
Concerning the size of the respondents’ institutions, referring to the number of civil
servants or employees, it ranges from 1 to 172, with an average of 18 employees per
agency.
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56.6% of the respondents stated that they had some managerial role within
banking institutions. 51.2% of bank workers in this study work in a public bank, while
48.8% work in a private financial institution. 88.4% of respondents work in banks, and
11.6% in credit unions, financial institutions located in the interior of the state (65.5%) or
the capital of RN (34.5%). It is important to note that bankers from 33 cities in the state
of RN and 19 different financial institutions participated in the study.
4.2 ANALYSIS OF THE BURNOUT INCIDENCE LEVEL

Based on the data collected in the MBI-GS, the level of BS incidence was
identified for each dimension separately and together. The findings reveal that 51.2% did
not have a high level in any of the three dimensions; that is, they are unaffected by the
prevalence of BS. However, 35.7% had high scores in only one dimension, 10.9% had a
high score in two dimensions, and 2.3% (6) scored high in all three dimensions. These
data indicate a high prevalence of BS in these banks, considering that high scores in two
dimensions can already be considered an indicator of BS (Maslach et al., 2001).
4.3 IDENTIFICATION OF DEFENSE STRATEGIES USED

The rationalization defense strategy was the most indicated by the respondents
(54.3%), followed by denial strategies (43%), passivity (27.5%), and individualism
(19.8%).
The results were similar in three other studies conducted with bank employees
(Macedo, 2015; Mattos, 2016). Mattos (2016) found that bank employees use the denial
strategy more, followed by rationalization. Macedo (2015) observed that private-sector
bank employees use the denial defense strategy more, followed by the rationalization
defense strategy, while public-sector bank employees use rationalization more, followed
by denial.
4.4 LOGISTICS REGRESSION MODELS FOR EACH DIMENSION

This topic will present a logistic regression model for each BS dimension,
emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced professional achievement.
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Table 4 shows the variables included in the logistic regression model for the
emotional exhaustion dimension. They use individualism and denial strategies; only these
variables can predict emotional exhaustion with a significance level lower than 0.05.
Table 4 Logistic regression model for the emotional exhaustion dimension

95% Confidence Interval for a exp b
Included variables B(EP) Lower Exp b Higher
Constant –2.011**(0.251) 0.134
Individualism 1.945**(0.375) 3,354 6,992 14,578
Denial 1.220**(0.330) 1.775 3,338 6,468
Note: Log-likelihood - 2 initial/final = 309.229/245.354, R 2 = 0.206 (Hosmer and Lemeshow), 0.219
(Cox and Snell), 0.314 (Nagelkerke). x 2 (2) of the Model = 63.875, p < 0.001, * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001
Source: Survey data (2022).
This means that about 22% of the variations in the log odds ratio are explained by
the independent variables: individualism and denial strategies. Furthermore, the model
can explain about 31% of the variations recorded in the emotional exhaustion dimension.
In addition, the chances of a bank employee who uses the individualism strategy
having a high emotional exhaustion level are 6.992 times greater than a bank employee
who does not use the individualism strategy. Likewise, the chances of a bank employee
who uses the denial strategy having a high emotional exhaustion level are 3.338 times
greater than a bank employee who does not use the denial strategy.
Notably, the variables not included in the logistic regression model showed
significance greater than 0.05, meaning that these variables do not predict emotional
exhaustion.
In the same way, as for the emotional exhaustion dimension, Table 5 shows the
variables inserted in the logistic regression model for the depersonalization dimension,
which is the use of individualism and denial strategies. Such data indicate that only these
two variables can predict depersonalization with a significance level lower than 0.05.
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Table 5 Logistic regression model for the depersonalization dimension

Constant –4.583**(0.729) 0.010
Individualism 1.855**(0.459) 2,601 6,392 15.713
Denial 2.619**(0.765) 3.061 13,724 61,527
Note: Log-likelihood - 2 initial/final = 185.474/129.040, R 2 = 0.304 (Hosmer and Lemeshow), 0.196
(Cox and Snell), 0.383 (Nagelkerke). x 2 (2) of the Model = 56.433, p < 0.001, * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001
These data also show that approximately 19% of the variations in the log odds
ratio are explained by the set of independent variables: the use of the individualism
strategy and denial strategy. Furthermore, the model presented in Table 5 can explain
more than 38% of the variations recorded in the depersonalization dimension.
Based on the data presented, the chances of a bank employee who uses the
individualism strategy to have a high level of depersonalization are 6.392 times greater
than a bank employee who does not use the individualism strategy. In comparison, the
chances of a bank employee who uses the denial strategy to have a high level of
depersonalization are 13.724 times greater than that of a bank employee who does not use
the denial strategy.
We emphasize that some variables did not enter the logistic regression model
because their significance values were greater than 0.05, which means that the variables
concerning gender, age, constitution, and use of passivity and rationalization defense
strategies do not have the power to predict the level of depersonalization of the
participants in this study.
Next, concerning the reduced dimension of professional fulfillment, Table 6
inserted the variable in the logistic regression model for the reduced dimension of
professional fulfillment, in this case, the variable concerning gender. Only this variable
can predict reduced professional achievement, with a significance level of less than 0.05.
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Table 6 Logistic regression model for the reduced dimension of professional achievement
Constant –1.400**(0.189) 0.246
Sex 0.707* (0.302) 1.122 2,029 3,666
Note: Log-likelihood - 2 initial/final = 284.542/-142.271, R 2 = 0.018 (Hosmer and Lemeshow), 0.021
(Cox and Snell), 0.031 (Nagelkerke). x 2 (1) of the Model = 5.398, p = 0.20, * p < 0.01, ** p < 0.001
The data presented in Table 6 denote that only 2% of the variations that occurred
in the log of the odds ratio are explained by the independent variable concerning gender,
which means that the model can explain only 3% of the variations recorded in the reduced
professional achievement dimension.
Bearing that the value ‘1’ refers to females and the value ‘0’ to males, the data
indicate that the chances of a female bank employee having a high level of reduced
professional achievement are 2.029 times greater than a male bank clerk. However, these
data must be considered cautiously due to the low explanatory percentage.
The other variables were not included in the logistic regression model because
their significance values were greater than 0.05. That is, the variables concerning age and
constitution and the four defense strategies cannot predict the level of reduced
professional achievement of the participants in this study.
In short, according to the data extracted from the analysis, defense strategies,
individualism, and denial predict emotional exhaustion and depersonalization levels.
Meanwhile, the gender of professionals in the banking sector predicts reduced
professional achievement.
4.5 STATUS AND DISCUSSION OF HYPOTHESES

Table 7 shows the status of each hypothesis right after the analysis.
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Table 7 Status of hypotheses after their testing

Hypothesis Status
H1: The variable concerning age is significant for predicting the BS
Refuted
levels of professionals in the banking sector.
H2: The variable concerning gender is significant for predicting the Confirmed - for the reduced dimen-
BS levels of professionals in the banking sector. sion of professional achievement
H3: The variable concerning constitution is significant for predicting
Refuted
the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector.
H4: The variable concerning the use of individualism as a defense
Confirmed for the emotional exhaus-
strategy is significant for predicting the BS levels of profession-
tion and depersonalization dimensions
als in the banking sector.
H5: The variable concerning denial as a defense strategy is signifi-
Confirmed for the emotional exhaus-
cant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking
tion and depersonalization dimensions
sector.
H6: The variable concerning passivity as a defense strategy is signif-
icant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking Refuted
sector.
H7: The variable concerning rationalization as a defense strategy is
significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the Refuted
banking sector.
The first hypothesis that the variable concerning age is significant for predicting
the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector was completely refuted. Data from
the three logistic regression analyses show that the age variable was insignificant in
predicting any BS dimensions. As in the study by Macedo (2015) conducted with bank
employees, the age variable was excluded from the regression model because it had an
insignificant statistical impact on burnout.
However, the results of other studies with bank employees differed from this one
(Amigo et al., 2014; Cerqueira, 2016; Li et al., 2015; Vilaça et al., 2021). Most of these
studies show that younger bank employees under 40 have higher emotional exhaustion
levels (Amigo et al., 2014; Cerqueira, 2016; Li et al., 2015) and depersonalization
(Cerqueira, 2016). In contrast, in one of these studies (Vilaça et al., 2021), evidence
shows that the oldest, between 41 and 50 years old, are the ones who have higher
emotional exhaustion levels.
These differences in results may be due to the study design. Furthermore, these
studies were conducted in other states of Brazil (Cerqueira, 2016; Macedo, 2015; Vilaça
et al., 2021) and even in other countries (Amigo et al., 2014; Li et al., 2015).
Regarding the study’s second hypothesis, it was confirmed that the gender
variable is significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector
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only for the reduced dimension of professional achievement, which means that there is a
probability that female bank employees have a higher level of reduced professional
achievement than male bank employees.
In other studies with bank employees, there is evidence that gender can predict a
higher level of reduced professional achievement, emotional exhaustion, and
depersonalization (Amigo et al., 2014; Cerqueira, 2016; Li et al., 2015). Each of these
studies was conducted in distinct locations and with methodological procedures. Such
questions may have moderated their results. Furthermore, we emphasize that their results
should be viewed cautiously due to the values found for this variable in this study.
The third hypothesis that the constitution variable is significant for predicting the
BS levels of professionals in the banking sector was completely refuted. Significance
values for the constitution variable were greater than 0.05, so they were not included in
the three logistic regression models. This means that the constitution variable does not
predict any of the BS dimensions in the participants.
This result partially confirms what was found in the study by Vilaça et al. (2021),
that both public and private sector bank employees have a high level of reduced
dimension of professional achievement. On the contrary, Carneiro (2019) concluded that
bank employees at public institutions had a high level of the reduced dimension of
professional achievement, whereas professionals from credit unions, also considered
private institutions, obtained higher levels in two dimensions, emotional exhaustion, and
depersonalization.
In turn, the fourth hypothesis, that the variable use of individualism as a defense
strategy is significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector,
was confirmed for the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions.
Individualism in the banking sector is also considered collective, as it is
encouraged by their co-workers when they compete to show who is more organized, more
requested by customers, and who dominates modern technologies more, without asking
for help. In recent years, banking work has been automated, disqualified and with greater
overload; at the same time, it has represented one of the best employment options. Thus,
subjects may be using defense strategies as a reaction to work that does not allow for
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personal fulfillment but is necessary for socioeconomic reasons (Resende & Mendes,
2004).
Because of this, a causal question arises: Do these bank employees who use
individualism have more emotional exhaustion and depersonalization because the defense
strategy is causing the emergence of BS? Or: Why do individuals with emotional
exhaustion and high depersonalization use this defense strategy more?
Likewise, the fifth hypothesis, that the variable use of denial as a defense strategy
is significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector, was also
confirmed for the emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions.
To Ferreira (2007), Macedo (2015), and Mattos (2016), these professionals deny
that the problem is a failure of the company and seek professional adequacy to meet goals
and grow within the organization. According to Macedo (2015), denial arises from the
trivialization of difficulties arising in the work environment and from the denial that this
environment is responsible for their suffering. That is, denial is linked to the non-
recognition of one’s suffering and the suffering of others (Ferreira, 2007). Mattos (2006)
explained in his study that the analyzed bank employees deny their working conditions
to themselves. While they deny it, they verbalize that they are adapted and have a certain
tranquility concerning what is required.
The characteristics of this strategy also instigate a causal question: Do these bank
employees who use denial have more emotional exhaustion and depersonalization
because the defense strategy is causing the emergence of BS? Or conversely: Why do
individuals with emotional exhaustion and high depersonalization use this defense
strategy more?
The sixth hypothesis that the variable use of passivity as a defense strategy is
significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector was
completely refuted. The passivity variable did not enter the logistic regression model in
any of the three dimensions, as its significance level was greater than 0.05. That is, this
variable does not predict BS levels in banks.
The study by Mendes (1995/1996) identified that bank professionals used
passivity as an alternative to maintaining psychic balance within the work environment.
The author of this study interviewed an audience other than bank employees (engineers
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in the technical area of a telecommunications company) and adopted a qualitative

approach. This study’s design differs from this current study. Therefore, these differences
may have influenced the results.
As there is no study conducted with bank employees to confirm this result, two
questions arise: Were the values insignificant because the cause-and-effect relationship
between the variables was nulled? Or: Does using the passivity defense strategy relate to
burnout?
The seventh hypothesis that the variable use of rationalization as a defense
strategy is significant for predicting the BS levels of professionals in the banking sector
was also rejected. The rationalization variable did not enter any of the three logistic
regression models; its significance level was greater than 0.05. Thus, this variable does
not predict BS levels in banking professionals either.
According to Ferreira (2007), Macedo (2015), and Mattos (2016), rationalization
arises in the face of statements that justify adversities at work. Professionals, faced with
difficulties, try not to change what they consider wrong but to find rationally created
justifications to explain the stressors in the work environment.
According to Mendes et al. (2003), as a way of coping with overload, these
professionals use alternatives outside the work environment, both through physical
activities and therapy and through behaviors of escaping suffering, ignoring it through
logical and coherent justifications. Thus, rationalization is the defense strategy most used
by these professionals to deal with the suffering generated in the work environment and,
perhaps, the most effective or appropriate.
As the results of this study do not confirm the hypothesis that the use of the
rationalization defense strategy predicts the BS levels of professionals in the banking
sector, the following questions arise: Is there a relationship among the variables? Or even:
Can the use of external alternatives to work nullify the effect of this strategy?
5 FINAL REMARKS
The general objective of this study was to verify the relationship between BS and
sociodemographic and functional variables and the use of defense strategies by
professionals in the banking sector in the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
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Regarding the level of BS in each dimension, according to the results, it is evident

that most of the responding professionals needed to present a high level in any of the three
dimensions or only one dimension. However, a smaller percentage of banking
respondents had a high score in two or three dimensions, which is already a worrying
alert, as it indicates a certain prevalence of BS in these banking institutions.
Concerning the defense strategies, we identified that rationalization is most used
by these bank professionals in their work environments, followed by denial, passivity,
and individualism.
As for the association of the sociodemographic and functional profile with the
level of BS, it was clear that only the gender variable is significant in predicting the
prevalence of one of its dimensions, the reduced professional fulfillment. On the other
hand, the variables concerning age and constitution do not present an indication to predict
any of its dimensions.
Concerning the relationship between the use of defense strategies and the level of
BS, we concluded that individualism and denial are predictors of two dimensions:
emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. At the same time, rationalization and
passivity defense strategies are not significant for predicting any of the three.
This study brought an overview of the prevalence of BS in the banking sector and
some of the predictive factors that help in its development. In addition, it filled a gap
when investigating mental health in this sector.
Based on the results of this study, the importance of mental health prevention for
these professionals was highlighted. In this sense, knowledge of the prevalence of BS is
necessary to proceed with possible managerial interventions on the part of the
organization; and psychological help by specialized professionals, regardless of whether
it is in the initial or more advanced stages. It is impossible to eliminate the stressors
inherent to the work environment. However, it is important to alleviate them and act on
psychosocial and occupational risks to promote a better quality of life at work.
Furthermore, it is important to share more and more information about BS within
financial institutions to contribute to its recognition and prevention.
In addition, specifically on the defense strategies most used by bank employees,
it is up to the managers of their respective financial institutions to promote an
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environment with a minimum of psychosocial and occupational risks so that these

professionals do not always have to justify the adversities that arise in their work context.
In addition, they must offer a more welcoming social environment associated with
recognition and appreciation for the effort undertaken and the results achieved.
Finally, considering that women stood out in the reduced professional
achievement dimension, financial institutions can provide psychologists or promote
therapies so that their employees and servants do not feel incapable and can have healthy
experiences in their work environments and, therefore, their homes.
Although the study brings contributions, the present research had some limitations
concerning the data collected, and its exploratory analysis showed a non-normal
distribution. This issue restricted the use of other multivariate analyses of parametric data.
Because of the limitations presented, we suggest that future work be conducted to
fill the lack of scientific studies that address the prevalence of BS in the banking sector.
Other types of statistical analyses are recommended to deepen and better detail the results
of this one, including a qualitative approach, to understand the meaning of the work and
its context as a predictor or aggravating factor of BS, besides new surveys covering other
states, regions or even the entire country, to obtain more expressive data results, or to
enable geographic comparisons.
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International Journal of Scientific Management and Tourism

Curitiba, v.9, n.4, p. 2421-2450, 2023

“From resistance to exhaustion”: defense strategies, sociodemographic

"Da resistência à exaustão": estratégias de defesa, variáveis

Recebimento dos originais: 24/07/2023

Rayssa Cleide de Oliveira

Agostinha Mafalda Barra de Oliveira

Juliana Carvalho de Sousa

Miriam Karla Rocha

Keywords: Burnout Syndrome, banking sector, defense strategies, sociodemographic

Palavras-chave: Síndrome de Burnout, setor bancário, estratégias de defesa, variáveis

2.2 FUNCTIONAL VARIABLE

2.3 DEFENSE STRATEGIES

3.1 SAMPLE SELECTION

3.2 PREPARATION OF COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

Table 1 SFQ items

depersonalization, 5 items; and reduced professional achievement, 8 items, as shown in

Table 2 MBI-GS Items by Dimension

3.3 DATA COLLECTION

3.4 DATA VALIDATION AND EXPLORATION

3.5 HYPOTHESES TESTING

3.6 DISCUSSION OF THE RESULTS

Table 3 Summary of methodological procedures

4.2 ANALYSIS OF THE BURNOUT INCIDENCE LEVEL

4.3 IDENTIFICATION OF DEFENSE STRATEGIES USED

4.4 LOGISTICS REGRESSION MODELS FOR EACH DIMENSION

Table 4 Logistic regression model for the emotional exhaustion dimension

Table 5 Logistic regression model for the depersonalization dimension

4.5 STATUS AND DISCUSSION OF HYPOTHESES

Table 7 Status of hypotheses after their testing

in the technical area of a telecommunications company) and adopted a qualitative

Regarding the level of BS in each dimension, according to the results, it is evident

environment with a minimum of psychosocial and occupational risks so that these

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Bryman, A. (2017). Quantitative and qualitative research: further reflections on their

Carneiro, L. (2019). Estresse ocupacional e florescimento em bancários da região noroeste

Carvalho, T. G. S. (2020). Prevalência de síndrome de burnout e fatores associados ao

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Macedo, A. B. R. (2015). Estratégias defensivas no enfrentamento de percepções de justiça

Mattos, E. C. (2016). Prazer e sofrimento no trabalho bancário: um olhar sobre o gestor

Mendes, A. M. B. (1995/1996). Comportamento defensivo: uma estratégia para suportar o

Mendes, A. M., Costa, V. P., & Barros, P. C. R. (2003). Estratégias de enfrentamento do

Nascimento, J. M., Filho, Vital, A. L. F, & Oliveira, A. K. S. G. (2021). Síndrome de burnout

Salvaro, G. I. J., & Mariano, P. (2021). Saúde mental de trabalhadoras em estudo:

Santos, S. C. S. A. (2020). Conflito trabalho-família, stress profissional e síndrome de

Seligmann-Silva, E. (2011). Trabalho e desgaste mental: o direito de ser dono de si mesmo.

Aracaju, Brasil. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, 20(10), 3011-3020. https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-

Troyer, M. (2012). Burnout. Laboreal, 8(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.4000/laboreal.6872

Valente, M. do S. da S., Lopes, C. S., Pastor-Valero, M., & Menezes, P. R. (2016).