Aspects Of Burnout Research Articles

Self-Oriented, Other-Oriented, and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism in Employees: Relationships with Burnout and Engagement

Burnout and engagement affect employees, organizations, and customers in numerous positive and negative ways. Consequently, it is important to know how individual differences contribute to employees' burnout and engagement. This study examines how individual differences in self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism were associated with burnout and engagement in a sample of 106 employees. Results of correlation and regression analyses showed that perfectionism explained variance in all facets of burnout (exhaustion, cynicism, reduced efficacy) and engagement (vigor, dedication, absorption). Whereas socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with higher levels of burnout and lower levels of engagement, self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism were associated with lower levels of burnout and higher levels of engagement. The findings indicate that individual differences in perfectionism may be a contributing factor to burnout and engagement in the workplace.

Organisational Role Stress and Employee Burnout in Pharmaceutical Industry

'Burnout' causes total lessening of a person's both physical and mental resources caused by excessive and prolonged level of job stress thereby affects their job performance. Many job related characters such as role conflict and role ambiguity are related to burnout. While many empirical studies are done on the employees' burnt out at international level, in India we have one authentic study by Sharma. The study analyses the effects of burnout in four dimensional aspects such as stress personality, organisational role stress, emotional intelligence, personal effectiveness and adjustments. The present study has adapted and operationalises sharma's model and looks into one of the dimensional aspects of burnout namely 'organisational role stresses'. This study has taken random sample of 175 employees of thirty six years from a leading Pharmaceutical sector. Using regression Analysis and Anova test on various predictors such as role ambiguity, resources inadequacy, inter-role distance, role isolation and personal inadequacies are able to explain the phenomenon of burnt out significantly. Among them 'role ambiguity' appears to high contributor to the process of burnout of the employees. There is lack of clarity or poor understanding about the role of executives which creates stress and thereby the burnout. The study concludes that burnout is an important issue in the pharmaceutical industry, especially among the middle level executives.

Job dissatisfaction and burnout in secondary school teachers: student's disruptive behaviour and conflict management examined

Over the last few decades there has been an important consensus amongst both scholars and researchers as far as teacher occupational malaise is concerned on the leading role of both students’ disruptive behaviour and/or attitudes and teachers’ perception of the difficulty in managing conflicts. Few empirical attempts, however, have been aimed at elucidating what determinants -from either of the two fronts- have a greater prominence to this phenomenon. It is, therefore, the purpose of this study -using a sample of 1,386 teachers from Ensenanza Secundaria Obligatoria (Compulsory Secondary Education), to identify what students’ disruptive behaviour and/or attitudes as well as what sources of stress derived from conflict management best discriminate between teachers with different levels of job dissatisfaction and burnout. Results allow us to conclude that all variables validly discriminate as a function of dissatisfaction and burnout. Specifically, aspects such as dealing with the parents of disruptive students and students’ problematic behaviour (vandalism within the premises of the school, aggressions among students, verbal abuse and challenging behaviour against the teacher) have an incidence on all three facets of burnout.

Prevalence of burnout syndrome among medical service providers and hospital employees of Mashhad, Iran

Background and Aims:This study aimed to evaluate prevalence rate of burnout syndrome in three aspects dimensions of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decrement of personal accomplishment and also determining degrees of vocational satisfaction, work load, social support, and self –respect in medical service providers.Methods:In this descriptive study we listed all of the hospitals of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and selected 660 staffs by stratified cluster sampling. They have filled up demographic information forms and self-respect, social support, work load, vocational satisfaction and burnout questionnaires of Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Data has been analyzed by spss and statistical tests (Pearson Chi-Square …).Results:Results have shown that 91.2% of study units have high self-respect, 67.1% have high social support, 54.8% have moderate vocational satisfaction, and 67.7% have high work load. In the light of three burnout aspects, 38.6% have low level of dimensions of emotional exhaustion, 58% have low levels of depersonalization, and 62.9% have high levels of decrement of personal accomplishment. Also, findings have depicted considerable direct relation between dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization feeling and work load, between decrement of personal accomplishment feeling and social support, and between emotional exhaustion feeling and self-respect degree.Conclusions:Rate of burnout in staffs in dimensions of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and decrement of personal accomplishment was low but because most of dimentions of burnout were higher among women it is important to increase support of them.

Job stressors, personality and burnout in primary school teachers

Teaching is considered a highly stressful occupation. Burnout is a negative affective response occurring as a result of chronic work stress. While the early theories of burnout focused exclusively on work-related stressors, recent research adopts a more integrative approach where both environmental and individual factors are studied. Nevertheless, such studies are scarce with teacher samples. The present cross-sectional study sought to investigate the association between burnout, personality characteristics and job stressors in primary school teachers from Cyprus. The study also investigates the relative contribution of these variables on the three facets of burnout - emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. A representative sample of 447 primary school teachers participated in the study. Teachers completed measures of burnout, personality and job stressors along with demographic and professional data. Surveys were delivered by courier to schools, and were distributed at faculty meetings. Results showed that both personality and work-related stressors were associated with burnout dimensions. Neuroticism was a common predictor of all dimensions of burnout although in personal accomplishment had a different direction. Managing student misbehaviour and time constraints were found to systematically predict dimensions of burnout. Teachers' individual characteristics as well as job related stressors should be taken into consideration when studying the burnout phenomenon. The fact that each dimension of the syndrome is predicted by different variables should not remain unnoticed especially when designing and implementing intervention programmes to reduce burnout in teachers.

Burnout and psychiatric staff's feelings towards patients

The concept of burnout describes a number of destructive aspects in work relationships. In this study, the relations between psychiatric staff members' feelings towards their patients and burnout were analyzed. Staff feelings were measured with a feeling checklist, and burnout with BM (Burnout Measure) and MBI (Maslach's Burnout Inventory). The staff at 28 treatment units rated their feelings towards the patients as a group. The results indicated that high burnout was associated with negative feelings and low levels of burnout with positive feelings towards patients. The correlation patterns for the different measures of burnout were somewhat different. BM had the strongest correlations with unhelpful and rejecting feelings towards patients, whereas Personal accomplishment, one dimension of MBI, was most strongly correlated with accepting and close feelings. The results were interpreted as opening for the question whether negative staff feelings towards patients most profitably can be seen as an aspect of burnout or whether these two phenomena should be distinguished clinically and theoretically.

Mental health, burnout and job satisfaction among mental health social workers in England and Wales

Previous research suggests that social workers experience high levels of stress and burnout but most remain committed to their work. To examine the prevalence of stress and burnout, and job satisfaction among mental health social workers (MHSWs) and the factors responsible for this. A postal survey incorporating the General Health Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Karasek Job Content Questionnaire and a job satisfaction measure was sent to 610 MHSWs in England and Wales. Eligible respondents (n=237) reported high levels of stress and emotional exhaustion and low levels of job satisfaction; 111 (47%) showed significant symptomatology and distress, which is twice the level reported by similar surveys of psychiatrists. Feeling undervalued at work, excessive job demands, limited latitude in decision-making, and unhappiness about the place of MHSWs in modern services contributed to the poor job satisfaction and most aspects of burnout. Those who had approved social worker status had greater dissatisfaction. Stress may exacerbate recruitment and retention problems. Employers must recognise the demands placed upon MHSWs and value their contribution to mental health services.

AN EMPIRICAL EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECT OF PERSONALITY ON GENERAL AND JOB-RELATED MENTAL ILL HEALTH

In the present study it was empirically explored how work-situation dimensions, personality dimensions, and personality-by-situation interactions are related to burnout and general mental ill health. Questionnaire data from 694 subjects were analyzed using hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses. The results suggest that: (a) personality should not be disregarded in theoretical discussions and empirical studies of burnout and general mental ill health; (b) personality can, to some extent, condition how the work environment dimensions affect an individual with regard to various aspects of burnout and general mental ill health; (c) attention should be given to the fact that some measures of burnout and mental ill health are more dependent on situational factors while other measures are more dependent on personality factors.

Past and familial depression predict current symptoms of professional burnout

Background Despite a substantial association between professional burnout and depression, the exact nature of the relationship is unclear. It is hypothesized that an underlying susceptibility for depression is associated with an enhanced risk for professional burnout. In the present study, the relationship was examined between indices of personal and familial history of depression and current symptoms of burnout. Methods Respondents were 3385 employees of different work settings (61% female, age 18–65 years), who completed questionnaires regarding demographic variables, working hours, personal and familial history of depression, current depressive symptomatology, and current symptoms of professional burnout. Results After controlling for background variables, the strongest predictor of all three burnout facets was current depressive symptomatology. Independent of the effects of background variables and current depressive symptoms, having ever experienced a depressive episode further predicted current symptoms of two burnout facets: emotional exhaustion (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.38–2.40, P < 0.001) and cynicism (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.16–1.98, P = 0.002). In addition, a history of depression in close family members independently predicted current symptoms of emotional exhaustion (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.27–2.10, P < 0.001), while a trend appeared for a similar effect on cynicism (OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 0.96–1.58, P = 0.095). Limitations The study is based on a cross-sectional retrospective design. Conclusions A predisposition for depression, as reflected by a personal and familial history of depression, may enhance the risk for burnout.

Factors relating to regular education teacher burnout in inclusive education

The aims of the research were to identify the environmental factors that relate to the work of regular school teachers who have students with special needs in their classroom, and to find out the correlation between these factors and teacher burnout. A total 330 primary school teachers filled in a questionnaire that had three parts: (1) personal background data; (2) the Friedman’s burnout questionnaire; and (3) environmental features typical of the work of school teachers that include students with special needs in their classroom, in four areas: psychological features, organizational, structural and social. Results show that the background data that related significantly to burnout was teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion. The more positive the attitude was, the more the teacher experienced burnout in the category of self‐fulfilment. This finding was contrary to the hypothesis of the research. Two other background variables were found to relate to the de‐personalization aspect of burnout, teaching higher‐grade students and having an additional administrative role in school. Two other findings that were found to correlate with higher burnout rates were the number of students with special needs in class (more than 20%) and very little assistance provided to the teacher. Three environmental factors were found to have negative correlation with burnout: the organizational factor, the psychological and the social, with the latter being the most significantly negatively correlated with burnout—i.e. the less social support the teacher experienced, the higher was her level of burnout.

Burnout in physicians: a case for peer‐support

It is well documented that doctors experience a high level of stress in their profession, and that this can lead to physical, psychological, and emotional harm, in particular, burnout. Overseas (especially in the UK and USA), research investigating the levels of stress, burnout, and associated psychiatric morbidity in health professionals, across many specialties, has been carried out with a view to prevention of these adverse outcomes. To assess the level of burnout in a sample of New Zealand physicians, the associated work and personal characteristics, and the need for development of a support peer supervision or support system. Questionnaires that measured a number of work and personal characteristics, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the General Health Questionnaire, and additional questions regarding mistakes, and need for support, were sent to 83 physicians in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty areas. Analysis involved descriptive statistics, with t-tests for comparison with other studies, Pearson Product-Moment correlations between variables and analysis of variance where appropriate. Of the 50 respondents, 28% experienced high levels of two or three aspects of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, low personal accomplishment). Emotional exhaustion correlated with a greater need for support. Most respondents favoured a one-to-one support system. This study highlights the presence of significant workplace difficulties for physicians and the need to develop a preventative support system for the protection of physicians and the patients in their care.

The Relationship Between Visioning Behaviours of Leaders and Follower Burnout

This paper investigates whether the perceived visioning behaviours of leaders influence the burnout process experienced by their followers. A structural equation model was used to examine these relationships using a sample of 480 senior managers from an Australian law‐enforcement organization. Differences in the relationships between the two factors of visioning behaviour and aspects of burnout were identified. Inspirational motivation (concept‐based) reduced the central factor of burnout, namely emotional exhaustion (psychological strain). Inspirational motivation (image‐based) had a positive effect on personal accomplishment (self) and reduced depersonalization. The paper discusses the implications for leaders and followers and identifies directions for future research.

Utbrenthet

Ørbo, M.C., Aslaksen, P.M. & Vittersø, J. (2005). Does one have to have burnt the candle at both ends in order to get burnout? Validation and prediction of burnout among university students in Norway. Nordisk Psykologi, 57, 417–434 With confirmatory factor analysis, data from 153 university students were used to investigate the structural validity of the Maslach Burnout Inventory for students (MBI-55). A modified threefactor burnout model fitted the data well. The tree factors are Emotional Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy. With the same sample, predictors of the burnout factors were analysed by means of multiple regressions. Three second-order personality factors were independently found to predict different aspects of burnout. Of particular interest was the relation between the personality factor named Engagement and the three dimensions of burnout. Engagement was negatively associated with Reduced Professional Efficacy, and unrelated to Emotional Exhaustion and Cynicism. Hence the idea that one must “burn” to “burn out” is only partly supported in the current data.

Burnout and personality in extreme nursing: an empirical study

Previous research into the causes of burnout has mainly been concerned with triggers, such as onerous work criteria or organisational or social influences. On the other hand, the question repeatedly posed is why,under the same working conditions, one individual burns out, while another shows no symptoms at all. It seems fair to assume that other causes such as personality may also play a role but such factors as individual reactions and personality have largely been ignored as a possible aetiology of burnout development. In preparation of a long-term study, this general cross-sectional study investigates the relationship between burnout and personality variables. The different personality variables having a possible impact on burnout were determined in a number of prestudies. The scales of these prestudies were selected according to their relevance for descriptive theories reported in scientific literature. The data were gathered from 119 people working in intensive care units. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was used as well as certain subscales of the following personality questionnaires: Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI), Inventory of Aggressivity (IA), Trier Personality Questionnaire (TPQ), Scales of Control (SC), Locus of control (LC) and the Logo-test (LOGO). All these aspects were descriptively but not yet quantitatively reported in scientific literature. Although multiple regression does not show all the personality variables as predictors for the burnout dimensions, the research hypothesis is confirmed: personality is significantly related to certain aspects of burnout. Neuroticism, extraversion, external locus of job-distance inability, existential frustration and ability of love prove to be personality traits with an impact on the development or the presence of burnout. The evaluation of our data shows that the factor Mental Health or Psychoprotection is important for all the burnout variables. It measures personality traits such as a high self-esteem, efficient coping strategies and autonomy. The results of this study identifying mental health as a consequence of a meaningful life as a protective factor, and an locus of control, neuroticism and extraversion as factors promoting burnout, might in future both be used to predict and prevent a burnout syndrome. As a consequence of our results individuals can use their knowledge of their own personal disposition to avoid the development of burnout; for example, by regulating their motivation and their engagement and enthusiasm for the job, and by seeking sensible leisure activities. On the other hand, the empirically established association between personality and burnout can be used as a basis for personality questionnaires to identify people susceptible to burnout.

Relationship Between School and Classroom Environment and Teacher Burnout: A LISREL Analysis

Research was conducted on the relationship between school and classroom psychosocial environment and perceptions of burnout in teachers who staff Queensland private schools. A sample of 246 teachers responded to scales that assess seven school environment and seven classroom environment dimensions and the three facets of burnout measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment. Preliminary multiple regression analyses resulted in an hypothesised model of seven environment dimensions predicting burnout. This model was tested in a LISREL analysis with posthoc modifications improving model fit to data. While staff affiliation and work pressure were significant predictors of emotional exhaustion, staff mission consensus and co-operation in classrooms were significant predictors of depersonalisation. Staff mission consensus, together with classroom interactions, co-operation and task orientation were significantly related to personal accomplishment. Results supported previous research on the structure of teacher burnout in that emotional exhaustion influenced depersonalisation which subsequently impacted on personal accomplishment.

A Study of Burnout and Multidisciplinary Team-Working amongst Professional Music Therapists

This paper reports the findings of a survey of 151 members of the British Association of Professional Music Therapists, conducted in January 1998, to investigate burnout and job satisfaction in relation to multidisciplinary team membership. Information on personal profile and employment characteristics was also sought, as music therapists are such a widely diverse group. Three aspects of burnout (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and personal accomplishment) were measured with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach &amp; Jackson 1981). Factors influencing reward and dissatisfaction in the job were also assessed in relation to multidisciplinary team membership. Personal and team role clarity and team and professional identification were assessed in therapists who were members of multidisciplinary teams. Therapists who were members of multidisciplinary teams were found to have higher levels of personal accomplishment and similar levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation in comparison to those working independently. These results are discussed in relation to previous surveys of other health and social care professionals. Sources of pressure and reward differed between multidisciplinary team members and non-members. Music therapists who were members of multidisciplinary teams were found to have a moderate level of personal role clarity within their team and identified with their profession more than with their multidisciplinary team.

Burnout and leadership in community mental health systems.

This study investigated whether aspects of burnout in clinical staff in community mental health agencies were systematically related to aspects of leadership behavior and quality of supervision of clinical supervisors. Burnout was measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory, leadership behavior was measured by the Leadership Practices Inventory, and clinical supervision by a scale constructed by the authors. Significant, though moderate relationships were found between the measures, and the implications for an organizational model of burnout, as well as prevention of burnout in mental health professionals are discussed.

Dimensionality and validity of the Burnout Measure

The dimensionality and validity of the BM (Burnout Measure) is investigated in Dutch samples of human services professionals and white‐collar workers (total N = 2190). Results show that, in contrast to the presumed dimensions ‘physical exhaustion’, ‘emotional exhaustion’ and ‘mental exhaustion’, the factors of the BM are ‘demoralization’, ‘exhaustion’, and ‘loss of motive’. The factorial structure is not affected by using different time frames although an unrestricted time frame results in significantly higher mean scores. A BM version with a seven‐point Likert scale results in more reliable subscales than a five‐point scale. The factor ‘loss of motive’ is substantially affected by inconsistent answering patterns of the respondents. The three‐factor model of the BM fits equally well in samples of professionals with and without patient contact. The BM subscales correlate highly with fatigue and with the dimension ‘emotional exhaustion’ of the Maslach‐Burnout‐Inventory (MBI) but cannot be distinguished from psychological strain and psychosomatic complaints. Problems in the conceptualization of burnout and its operationalization are discussed. It is concluded that the BM captures only a particular aspect of burnout and is rather a measure of general well‐being. Recommendations for further use of a modified BM are given.

Burnout in a Sample of HMO Pharmacists Using the Maslach Burnout Inventory

The objective was to measure the three aspects of burnout-emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment-using the Maslach Burnout Inventory in a sample of health maintenance organization (HMO) pharmacists. The specific objectives were to: 1) investigate the relationship of individual demographic and job-related variables and a career-related variable to the three aspects of burnout; 2) obtain a profile of the respondents susceptible to the three aspects of burnout; and 3) solicit comments from the respondents about the pharmacist's job environment and suggestions to improve it. A survey was mailed to 251 pharmacists practicing in HMO settings from a list supplied by Medicom International, Inc. The survey collected information about burnout in terms of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment; information on the individual and career- and job-related characteristics of each respondent; and comments about the HMO pharmacists' job environment and suggestions to improve it. Eighty-three useable responses were obtained, representing a useable response rate of 33.6%. Overall, the respondents experienced moderate levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and high levels of personal accomplishment. Staff pharmacists had significantly higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores than those in a supervisory capacity. Unmarried respondents with lower annual salaries had significantly higher emotional exhaustion and depersonalization scores than married/higher-salaried pharmacists, respectively. Respondents with three or more children had lower depersonalization levels than those with no children, while those who had worked for five years or more in their current job had higher emotional exhaustion scores than those who had worked in their current job for fewer years. Respondents who worked between 35 and 40 hours per week in the HMO setting had higher personal accomplishment scores than those who worked 34 hours or less per week. Profiles of pharmacists most susceptible to the three aspects of burnout were obtained: those who had no children, an annual salary of $49,999 or less, and worked for five or more years in their current job were more susceptible to emotional exhaustion. Respondents who had no children and an annual salary of $49,999 or less were more susceptible to depersonalization. Those who spent 1 %-25% of their time processing prescriptions were less susceptible to burnout, while those who worked 34 hours or less were more susceptible to burnout on the personal accomplishment subscale. Results concerning the relationship of individual, job-related, and a career-related variable to the three aspects of burnout were obtained. A profile of HMO pharmacists susceptible to the three aspects of burnout was also obtained. This information can be useful in the development of stress management programs designed to minimize the level of chronic stress that can potentially lead to burnout among HMO pharmacists.

Antecedents of employee burnout in the hotel industry

This study explored the degree of association between employee perceptions of the work environment and burnout. Aspects of the job and organisational structures that can be influenced were tested for association with the Maslach and Jackson components of employee burnout in an attempt to understand the stress processes that lead to employees experiencing emotional exhaustion, depersonalising customers and feeling a lack of personal accomplishment. Data from a questionnaire completed by employees of large hotels in New Zealand indicate that although physical aspects of a job are associated with certain aspects of burnout, the stronger relationships are clearly with respondents’ perceptions of the workplace climate. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.