Comparison of occupational burnout between Han and minority soldiers in Xinjiang

Objective To investigate differences in occupational burnout and its influential factors between Han and minority soldiers in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).Methods Stratified random sampling was used to select 1 939 Han and minority soldiers in Xinjiang in November 2013 and then the Military Occupation Burnout Scale was self-administered by the soldiers anonymously.Results Compared to the minority soldiers,the Han soldiers presented significantly higher overall score of occupational burnout (24.58±8.16 vs.19.90±7.40)and domain scores for sense of achievement (5.08±1.22 vs.4.15±1.09),somatization (4.88±1.32 vs.3.94±1.03),self-evaluation (8.42±2.26 vs.7.03±2.30),interpersonal relationship (2.76±1.02 vs.2.11±1.01),and demotivation (3.44±1.55 vs.2.66±1.08)(P<0.01 for all).The overall score and domain scores of occupational burnout were reversely correlated significantly with job satisfaction in both the Han soldiers (r=-0.091--0.167,P<0.01 for all) and the minority ethnic soldiers (r=-0.129--0.366,P<0.01 for all).The scores of sense of achievement,somatization,interpersonal relationship,and demotivation were positively related significantly to age,service time,and working hours (P<0.05 for all) in the Han soldiers;while in the minority ethnic soldiers the sense of achievement and demotivation were positively related significantly to working hours (both P<0.05).Job satisfaction was a major influencing factor for occupational burnout among all the soldiers and working hours and marriage status were main influencing factors for occupational burnout only in the Han soldiers.Conclusion The overall occupational burnout of ethnic minority soldiers is lower than that of Han soldiers and job satisfaction is closely related to occupational burnout in both Han and minority soldiers in Xinjiang.