Reduced recognition of facial emotional expressions in global burnout and burnout depersonalization in healthcare providers

The healthcare provider profession strongly relies on the ability to care for others’ emotional experiences. To what extent burnout may relate an actual alteration of this key professional has been little investigated. In experimentally controlled setting, we investigated whether subjective experiences global or depersonalization (the interpersonal component burnout) objectively measured alterations in emotion recognition and such are specific. Healthcare workers ( n = 90) completed Maslach Burnout Inventory a dynamic task which faces with neutral expressions gradually changed display specific basic (happiness, anger, fear, sadness). Participants were asked identify then classify each displayed emotion. Before task, subsample 46 participants underwent two salivary cortisol assessments. Individuals less accurate at recognizing anger tending misclassify these as happiness, compared individuals without burnout. high more happiness all negative emotions, tendency latter positive ones, moderate/low depersonalization. Moreover, depersonalization—but not burnout—were characterized by higher levels. These results suggest that experience relates actual, but selective, reduction facial expressions, perhaps due enhanced seeking social cues. This study adds understanding processing paves way nuanced studies role altered threat signals development and/or persistence