# Fuzzy Approach to Computational Classification of Burnout--Preliminary Findings
## 2 Materials and Methods
### Computational Methods  
The problem is very complex, and we are still searching for a mathematical solution appropriate for its description, both in terms of values and changes over time. The problem of professional burnout can be considered imprecise due to:  
* dependence on the context of the occupation: there are different causes of burnout in medical professions and others (e.g., in office work) and other cause-effect relationships (including those resulting from strategies to counteract burnout, e.g., frequency of job rotations); \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline  & **Study Group 1** & **Study Group 2** \\  & **(\(\textit{n}\) =30, 100\%)** & **(\(\textit{n}\) =30, 100\%)** \\ \hline Median & 1.50 & 3 \\ Q3 & 4.75 & 4 \\ Max & 8 & 9 \\ Gender: & & \\ Females (F) & 18 (60\%) & 16 (53.33\%) \\ Males (M) & 12 (40\%) & 14 (46.67\%) \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: _Cont._occurrence of up to 12 phases of job burnout: honeymoon, onset, chronic, habitual, etc., during the course of burnout (even up to several years);
* various symptoms, often co-occurring at different levels of intensity: exhaustion, lack of energy, constant fatigue, sleep disorders, reduced performance, concentration and memory problems, inability to make decisions, etc. ;
* factors differentiating patients, such as diet, sleep, physical activity, co-occurrence of movement disorders (e.g., in physiotherapists);
* about different directions of changes in values, e.g., due to obtaining temporary support from co-workers or family, vacation, therapy, etc. ;
* with different susceptibility to negative trend reversal. In addition, there is a lack of precise mathematical models, and the tool for computational analysis is fuzzy logic in the form of a fuzzy system. With our models, we want to answer the following question in the future: can this cause value fluctuations and uncertainty even when using several tests simultaneously? One of the popular techniques for defining fuzzy systems is neuro-fuzzy techniques (an example is presented in [23]). However, the proposed fuzzy models represent linguistically described models already defined and used by medical professionals (psychologists). Therefore, the propositions presented in this paper use Mamdani-type fuzzy systems, which are effective for linguistically represented models. Three models were proposed on the basis of general suggestions from the description of the MBI. From the characteristics of the MBI, we can point to the general numerical properties of the results. First, there are three groups of the data which together are interpreted as a final evaluation of burnout. Each of those groups has a different range of values and direction of interpretation. Those groups are as follows:  
1. \"Emotional exhaustion\" \(X_{\text{em}}\)
* range of values \(X_{\text{em}}=\) (0; 54);
* general interpretation: the higher the value, the worse the psychological condition. 2. \"Deppersonalisation\" \(X_{\text{dep}}\)
* range of values \(X_{\text{dep}}=\) (0; 30);
* general interpretation: the higher the value, the worse the psychological condition. 3. \"Lack of personal achievements\" \(X_{\text{achiev}}\)
* range of values \(X_{\text{achiev}}=\) (0; 48);
* general interpretation: the lower the value, the worse the psychological condition--note that it is opposite to the other groups. These three groups together make up input data X to the models (and in the general analysis):  
\[X=\{X_{\text{em}},X_{\text{dep}},X_{\text{achiev}}\}.\]  
The following common parameters of fuzzy systems were used in all of the proposed models:  
* aggregation of premises in the rules: PROD;
* implication: MIN;
* aggregation of results from the rules (accumulation): MAX;
* defluzyfication: centre of gravity (COG). By using fuzzy systems in the model of evaluation, we obtain a flexible tool for scaling the results. We use that advantage to make the results scale as an interval [0;1].