Shifting of attentional set is inadequate in severe burnout: Evidence from an event-related potential study

•We studied attentional set shifting in burnout using ERP recordings.•Participants were working people with severe, mild, or no burnout symptoms.•Error rates were higher in severe burnout compared to other groups.•Switch trials were associated with a large double-peaked P3 response.•P3 amplitude was decreased in severe burnout group.

Individuals with prolonged occupational stress often report difficulties in concentration. Work tasks often require the ability to switch back and forth between different contexts. Here, we studied the association between job burnout and task switching by recording event-related potentials (ERPs) time-locked to stimulus onset during a task with simultaneous cue-target presentation and unpredictable switches in the task. Participants were currently working people with severe, mild, or no burnout symptoms. In all groups, task performance was substantially slower immediately after task switch than during task repetition. However, the error rates were higher in the severe burnout group than in the mild burnout and control groups. Electrophysiological data revealed an increased parietal P3 response for the switch trials relative to repetition trials. Notably, the response was smaller in amplitude in the severe burnout group than in the other groups. The results suggest that severe burnout is associated with inadequate processing when rapid shifting of attention between tasks is required resulting in less accurate performance.