Occupational burnout

Job burnout is characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy within the workplace.^[1] More accurately defined, exhaustion refers to the depletion or draining of emotional resources, cynicism refers to the indifference or distant attitude of work, and reduced professional efficacy refers to the lack of satisfaction with past/present expectations.^[2] Occupational burnout is typically and particularly found within the human service professions. Such jobs that naturally experience high amounts of occupational burnout include: social workers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, physicians, and police officers.^[3] The reason why burnout is so prevalent in the human service professions is due in part to the high stress environment, emotional involvedness, and outcomes that are independent of the effort exerted by the working individual.

The individuals who are most vulnerable to occupational burnout are ones who are strongly motivated, dedicated, and involved in the work in which they partake.^[4] As work for these individuals is a source of importance in which they derive meaning in life, it is significant that they find meaning by achieving their goals and expectations. Therefore, the process of burning out is the realization and reflection of the failure to find meaning and growth in life.^[4]

Occupational burnout is associated with increased work experience, increased workload, absences and time missed from work, impaired empathy and cynical attitudes toward clientele, and thoughts of quitting.^[5]

Occupational burnout prevention

In order to quell occupational burnout, it is important to reduce or remove the negative aspects of the three main components that make up occupational burnout. However, it is difficult to treat all three components as the three burnout symptoms react differently to the same preventive or treatment activities.^[6] Exhaustion is more easily treated than cynicism and professional efficacy, which tend to be more resistant to treatment. Research shows that intervention actually may worsen the professional efficacy of one who originally had low professional efficacy.^[7]

Burnout prevention programs in the past have focused upon cognitive-behavior, cognitive restructuring, didactic stress management, and relaxation.^[4] These types of prevention programs rely upon reducing the exhaustion component of occupational burnout. However, recent research indicates that, at the individual level, cognitive-behavioral strategies have the best potential for success.^[8] It is more complicated at the organizational level where reducing or removing job stressors have been shown to decrease burnout.^[9] Burnout experts believe that in order to reduce occupational burnout, a strategy of combining both organizational and individual level activities may be the most beneficial approach to reduce the three main symptoms. Improving upon job-person fit by focusing attention on the relationship between the person and the job situation appears to be a promising way to deal with burnout.^[10]

Employee rehabilitation

Employee rehabilitation is defined as a tertiary preventive intervention which means the strategies used in rehabilitation are meant to alleviate, as well as, prevent burnout symptoms.^[6] Such rehabilitation of the working population includes multidisciplinary activities with the intent of maintaining and improving employees' working ability and ensuring a supply of skilled and capable labor in society.

Insulation from burnout

One study suggest that social-cognitive processes such as commitment to work, self-efficacy, learned resourcefulness, and hope may insulate individuals from experiencing occupational burnout.^[11]

See also

• Burnout (psychology)
• Occupational health psychology
• Organizational communication
• Work-life balance
• Perceived organizational support
• Perceived psychological contract violation

References

1. ^ Maslach, C., Jackson, S., & Leiter, M. (1996). Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.
2. ^ van Dierendonck, D., Garssen, B., & Visser, A. (2005, February). Burnout Prevention Through Personal Growth. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(1), 62-77.
3. ^ Jackson, S., Schwab, R., & Schuler, R. (1986, November). Toward an understanding of the burnout phenomenon. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(4), 630-640.
4. ^ ^{a b c} van Dierendonck, D., Garssen, B., & Visser, A. (2005, February). Burnout Prevention Through Personal Growth. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(1), 62-77.
5. ^ Elliott, T., Shewchuk, R., Hagglund, K., Rybarczyk, B., & Harkins, S. (1996, December). Occupational burnout, tolerance for stress, and coping among nurses in rehabilitation units. Rehabilitation Psychology, 41(4), 267-284.
6. ^ ^{a b} Hätinen, M., Kinnunen, U., Pekkonen, M., & Kalimo, R. (2007, August). Comparing two burnout interventions: Perceived job control mediates decreases in burnout. International Journal of Stress Management, 14(3), 227-248.
7. ^ van Dierendonck, D., Schaufeli, W. B., & Buunk, B. P. (1998). The evaluation of an individual burnout intervention program: The role of inequity and social support. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 392–407.
8. ^ Schaufeli, W. B., & Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis. London: Taylor & Francis.
9. ^ Hätinen, M., Kinnunen, U., Pekkonen, M., & Kalimo, R. (2007, August). Comparing two burnout interventions: Perceived job control mediates decreases in burnout. International Journal of Stress Management, 14(3), 227-248.
10. ^ Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422.
11. ^ Elliott, T., Shewchuk, R., Hagglund, K., Rybarczyk, B., & Harkins, S. (1996, December). Occupational burnout, tolerance for stress, and coping among nurses in rehabilitation units. Rehabilitation Psychology, 41(4), 267-284.

Further reading

• Cooper, C. L., & Cartwright, S. (1997). An intervention strategy for workplace stress. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 43, 7–16.
• Clanton, L. D., Rude, S., & Taylor, C. (1992). Learned resourcefulness as a moderator of burnout in a sample of rehabilitation providers. Rehabilitation Psychology, 37, 131–140.