Burnout and other psychosocial factors in Portuguese judges: The influence of sociodemographic and work variables

Recent studies show that the experience of stress in the judiciary is a phenomenon with an impact on the health of the judicial professionals, but also on the level of performance and ability to fulfill their duties. This study aims to evaluate the burnout inducing symptoms and other psychosocial factors of Portuguese judges working, in Judicial Courts of First Instance, attending to sociodemographic (age and gender) and work characteristics (years as judge, displacement and satisfaction with the place of assignment. A sample of 413 Portuguese judges completed an online survey with (i) a sociodemographic and working data questionnaire, (ii) the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) to evaluate health indicators (general health, sleeping problems and stress) and (iii) the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI) to evaluate burnout. Regarding the working characteristics, the results showed that the satisfaction with the place of assignment were correlated with the general health, sleeping problems and stress, and also it was a good predictor of judges’ burnout. Furthermore, more years of service was also associated with worse health indicators and burnout. The relevance of the satisfaction of the place of assignment demonstrated the need to reevaluate the norms in which public tenders are carried out, with the aim of creating a fairer appointment system that causes less damage to the life of judges.