The role of university teachers’ occupational activity in the burnout syndrome

Abstract

Introduction. Burnout syndrome (BOS) is interpreted as career crisis. However, BOS is no classified as occupational or workplace-related illness, it is considered as phenomenon in the occupational context only. Aim - to assess the influence of professional activity of university teachers on the development of BOS. Materials and methods. Female teachers of three age groups (under 30 years, 30-49 years, and older 49 years) working at the North Kazakhstan University (NKU). This study employed questionnaire, physiological and statistical methods. Results. The most pronounced phase experienced by teachers is “Resistance” phase, followed by “Exhaustion” phase and then “Tension” phase. As for the age range, respondents of the first age group (under 30 years old) have expressed reaction of: “Tension” phase - 21.7%, “Resistance” - 34.7%, “Exhaustion” - 30.4%. “Resistance” response prevailed in two other age groups. A post-symptom analysis of the formed BOS phase showed the prevalence of the following symptoms in the “Resistance” phase: “R1. Inadequate emotional response”, “R4. Reduction of professional duties”, “R2. Emotional and moral disorientation” and “R3. Expansion of emotion saving. “T1.Experiencing traumatic events” symptom dominated in the “Tension” phase, followed by the symptoms of the “Exhaustion” phase - “E1. Emotional deficiency”, “E2. Emotional detachment” and “E3. Personal detachment (depersonalization)”. The dynamics of psychophysiological indicators based on the phases of the formation of BOS showed results similar to obtained from correlation analysis and analysis of variance. A post-symptom analysis of the formed BOS phase showed that the prevailing symptoms negatively affect the professional qualities of teachers. Teachers can be assumed to face increasing traumatic factors of professional activity, they cease to feel the difference between the emotion saving and inappropriate emotional response and, therefore, they try to minimize the responsibilities requiring emotional costs. Limitations. This study is limited to a selection of female teachers of the NKU, who develop BOS during their teaching activities, diagnosed according to the questionnaire of V.V. Boyko. Conclusion. It can be assumed that teachers’ professional activity causes the growth of BOS and can be classified as workplace illness, which entails the inability of an employee to perform his/her duties at a professional level.