Evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on the occupational burnout among shift workers in Hong Kong.

Recruitment was through work associations and social media, so people who already felt burnt out may have been more willing to take part, which could push the 39.4% figure up. The sample skewed young (369 of 538, 69%, were aged 26 to 35) and came from only three sectors, so the whole shift workforce is not represented. Only 94% of the intended sample size was reached, which the authors say weakened the associations they found. Everyone was asked once, so the study shows what goes together and not what causes what. Working culture and quarantine rules differ between places, so the findings may not carry over to other regions.

The authors declared no competing interests and said they received no funding for the research, the writing or the publication.

Do not read the higher odds among people infected twice as proof that COVID-19 infection causes burnout. That group was 11% of the sample (61 people), and a one-off survey cannot tell whether the infection came before the burnout or after it.