Burnout Process Research Articles

Stress, positive personal variables and burnout: A path analytic approach

The notion that personal resources are a powerful screen for the negative influence of stressors in the burnout process is one of the aspects where consensus is more widespread in the domain of Positive Psychology. It is nonetheless true that identifying them and finding out how these “personal strengths or competences” operate would be crucial to improve health and well-being in the workplace. It seems therefore urgent to throw light –from a research perspective– not merely on whether the positive variables play a mediating role between the potential stressors and burnout but also on which the alternative paths are that have an influence on occupational stress. So, the fundamental objective of this study is to analyze a model of influences in which the levels of stress perceived by the teacher from the different disruptive behaviors of the students (verbal abuse at the teacher, aggressions among students, vandalism) are the exogenous variables while the different positive personal variables (optimism, hardiness, life satisfaction) are mediating variables and burnout is the endogenous variable. The results obtained from a sample of 523 secondary education teachers confirm that teacher “resilience” (optimism and hardiness) and life satisfaction mediate the negative impact that stressors from student behavior have on experiencing burnout.

RESEARCH OF EMOTIONAL BURNOUT OF MEDICAL HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS LECTURERS

Emotional factor is the first among the significant and controllable factors, determining the health condition of the faculty members of the higher education institutions. The psychological health of staff should be monitored, and, first and foremost, the process of psychological burnout of teachers should be controlled. The organization of phased preventive and corrective measures for the faculty of medical higher education institutions promotes successful professional stress coping.

Burnout and Socio-demographic Characteristics of Nurses in Iran

Background: Nursing is considered as a profession at risk for high levels of stress and burnout, and these levels may be increasing as the care they deliver becomes complex. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between burnout and socio-demographic characteristics of nurses.Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical design was used. The sample consisted of 194 nurses working in five hospitals of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in Iran, who completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) as well as a socio-demographic questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, independent t-test and ANOVA.Results: Results indicated moderate levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and low levels of personal accomplishment. There was significant relationship between burnout and age, length of employment, and educational level.Conclusion: Identifying an integrative process of burnout among nurses is an essential step in developing effective managerial strategies in order to address the problem. To prevent burnout, further research is necessary to determine the factors associated with it so that recommendations can be made for future wellness interventions. [GMJ. 2014;3(4):232-7]

Influence of processing conditions on the microstructure of NiO-YSZ supporting anode for solid oxide fuel cells

In the present work, the control of a ceramic colloidal process is aimed to fabricate NiO-YSZ composite with specific microstructure and porosity for anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell applications. The optimization of dispersant and solid concentration in anode slurries provides a reduction in their viscosity, shear stress and yield stress; concurrently, solvent evaporation and hysteresis in flow behaviour are minimized, thus improving the suspension stability. The corresponding sintered compacts produced from the optimized slurry demonstrated uniform microstructure with specific porosity distribution. It is shown that the residual porosity can be tailored in the range of 12–23% exclusively by controlling the conditions of drying, burn-out and sintering process; the lower limit allows effective gas permeation during anode reduction owing to an interconnected pore structure obtained already at 12–14% porosity. This indicates a stable pore structure derived from the burn-out of pore former even for sintering temperature as high as 1400°C.

Development of Freeze-Form Extrusion Fabrication With Use of Sacrificial Material

The development of freeze-form extrusion fabrication (FEF) process to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) ceramic parts with use of sacrificial material to build support sections during the fabrication process is presented in this paper. FEF is an environmentally friendly, additive manufacturing (AM) process that builds 3D parts in a freezing environment layer-by-layer by computer controlled extrusion and deposition of aqueous colloidal pastes based on computer-aided design (CAD) models. Methyl cellulose was identified as the support material, and alumina was used as the main material in this study. After characterizing the dynamics of extruding alumina and methyl cellulose pastes, a general tracking controller (GTC) was developed and applied to control the extrusion force in depositing both alumina and methyl cellulose pastes. The controller was able to reduce the time constant of the closed-loop system by more than 65% in comparison to the open-loop control system. Freeze-drying was used to remove the water content after the part has been built. The support material was then removed in the binder burnout process. Finally, sintering was done to densify the ceramic part. The fabrication of a cube-shaped part with a square hole in each side that requires depositing the sacrificial material during the FEF process was demonstrated.

How Does Supervisor Burnout Affect Leader-Member Exchange? A Dyadic Perspective

Employee burnout remains a legitimate concern for organizations because of its links to costly outcomes, including increased absenteeism, turnover, and reduced employee productivity. An emerging stream of research has provided initial evidence that burnout can be highly contagious (i.e., transferable) between employees, suggesting that it may be a meaningful dyadic construct. These initial findings suggest that if organizations do not undertake efforts to curb burnout, it could spread among employees and result in detrimental consequences. However, the existing burnout contagion literature has been plagued by methodological problems and has focused primarily on main effects, revealing little about the causal processes underlying dyadic burnout. To date, several scholars have cited the importance of the role of the supervisor in providing employees with key resources enabling them to effectively cope with job demands, thereby reducing the risk of burnout. However, although literature continues to cite the importance of supervisory behavior as a factor contributing to subordinate burnout, a model detailing the role of the supervisor in the subordinate burnout process has yet to be articulated. Drawing on a sample of 103 supervisor-subordinate dyads, this paper articulates and tests a model of dyadic burnout with a specific focus on how supervisor burnout affects subordinate burnout, both directly and through their leader-member exchange relationship. Results and implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Pupils’ Interpersonal Problems and Occupational Stress in Teacher. Preliminary Results.

This study investigates whether or not high school pupil's behaviour has any relevant impact as regards teachers occupational stress and therefore contributing to the burnout process with its already known risk factors. In 2008 Lopez, Santiago, Godás and colleagues after having investigated the influence of the pupils disruptive behaviour on teachers burnout – levels demonstrated that difficulties in conflict management and the absence of help in setting disciplinary measures represented reliable predictors for burnout. In our investigation we query, from a psychodynamic point of view, whether the pupils everyday inter relational behaviour, (considered a situation factor), has a transference impact on the teachers burnout. As would be expected dominant- hostile behaviour tends to accompany subjective valuation of teachers occupational stress. MethodSecondary high school teachers and their pupils were assessed using the instruments mentioned below in order to calculate a relationship -score for each teacher based on the pupils questionnaires. The teachers were tested with the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Questionnaire on Life-Satisfaction and the Interpersonal Problems Inventory. Pupils were tested with an adapted version of the IIP for adolescents. ResultsShows that even if pupils who have distant and detached behaviour are not associated with teachers stress related symptoms it is however associated with and leads to teachers’ emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and the intensification of the symptoms.

The process of burnout among professional sport coaches through the lens of self-determination theory: a qualitative approach

Using a qualitative retrospective approach, this paper investigates how some work-related demands led to burnout among four professional coaches. Self-determination theory (SDT) offered a sound theoretical framework to better understand the motivational process leading to serious negative outcomes (Ryan & Deci, 2002). Findings indicated that all coaches experienced working in a maladaptive environment, exemplified by experiencing very heavy workloads, a lack of leader support, and work-related conflicts. These experiences had a detrimental effect on the coaches' motivation. Psychological need thwarting and a shift towards a more controlled form of motivation explained why coaches became increasingly at risk for burning out, a process that evolved over time. All four coaches experienced a wide range of burnout symptoms. Findings from this study highlight the importance for sports organizations to better cater for the psychological needs of professional coaches to prevent burnout.

The mediating role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and the consumption of tobacco and alcohol

AbstractEarlier studies have shown that feelings of guilt appear to be involved in the burnout process. However, the exact nature of the relationship between burnout, feelings of guilt, and tobacco and alcohol use is unclear. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and the consumption of tobacco and alcohol. Role conflict, Role clarity, and Feedback were included as predictors of burnout. The sample of this cross‐sectional study consisted of 260 Chilean administration and customer service workers. Hypotheses were tested using a path model. The hypothesized model (i.e., Indolence to guilt to tobacco/alcohol use) showed an adequate data fit, including a mediator role of feelings of guilt in the relationship between burnout and alcohol use. The results of this study recommending taking into consideration the evaluation of feelings of guilt as a symptom of burnout in order to develop a more reliable diagnosis of burnout syndrome and its consequences.

An experimental study of the reactivity of cellulosic-based chars from wastes

The objectives of this work were to determine the reactivity of the chars of different cellulosic-based wastes. In energy recovery from waste, the burnout of chars is a part of the overall complex combustion process. Being able to establish simple models for the char burnout process is therefore important. In this study, chars made from wood chips, newspaper and glossy paper were chosen as being representative of the cellulosic fractions of municipal solid waste. The ash content of these parent materials ranged from 0.4% to 24.8% by weight, on a dry basis. After devolatilization, the chars had ash contents in the range 2.2–61.8%.The reactivities of the chars examined were determined from weight loss and surface area measurements. Weight loss was measured via thermogravimetry and surface areas were measured via gas adsorption techniques using CO2 as the adsorbing gas.The reactivity of each of the cellulosic-based chars was found to be a function of conversion. The glossy paper char was found to be much more reactive than the wood-chip char, which in turn was found to be slightly more reactive than the newspaper char. In order to obtain the reactivity for the glossy paper char from the gravimetric measurements, it was crucial to account for calcium carbonate in the sample, a clay used in the paper-making process to give the paper its glossy appearance. Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) desorbs CO2 at the high temperatures used during char preparation and adsorbs CO2 at the low temperatures used in the reactivity tests to ensure kinetics-limited oxidation.The average intrinsic reactivities for the three chars, during reaction in 10vol.% oxygen at 500°C and atmospheric pressure, were found to be 0.46×10-6,0.21×10-6 and 1.36×10-6gm-2s-1, respectively, for the wood-chip, newspaper and glossy-paper chars and the corresponding peak reactivities were 1.43×10-6,1.06×10-6and 5.80×10-6gm-2s-1. The reactivities for the chars differ as a function of conversion and ash content, but no trend in terms of either increasing or decreasing reactivity with increasing ash content was found. Moderate heat treatment, where the char is exposed to 1277°C for 47ms, had no significant influence on char reactivity.

The impact of hospital customer orientation on burnout of public hospital service workers in New Zealand

Using data from frontline hospital employees (FHEs) in a major New Zealand public hospital, this study expands previous research on the relationship between job demand stressors and burnout, and examines the role of customer orientation (CO) as an organisational level variable in the burnout process. The study results show that burnout symptoms partially mediate the effects of job demand stressors on FHEs self-evaluation of their ability to do their job. Besides having a direct negative impact on depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment, CO also buffers the dysfunctional effects of job demand stressors on reduced personal accomplishment as well as the dysfunctional effects of emotional exhaustion on depersonalisation. Implications of the results are discussed and future research avenues are offered.

Stressful and Traumatic Life Events are Associated with Burnout—A Cross-Sectional Twin Study

Most burnout studies focus on symptoms of burnout in relation to work-related stress. However, recent studies have found that familial factors and stress in the personal life may also be of importance. Stressful and traumatic life events influence how individuals cope with stress over the life course and may therefore be associated with burnout symptoms. This study aims to assess the associations between stressful and traumatic life events and burnout symptoms in a population-based sample of twins, adjusting for familial confounding. In this cross-sectional questionnaire-based study of 25,378 Swedish twins, odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression analysis. First, the whole sample was analysed. Secondly, a matched co-twin analysis was conducted of the same-sex twin pairs discordant on burnout, in order to adjust for familial factors. A history of traumatic life events was independently associated with burnout symptoms, with a cumulative effect with increasing number of events. ORs adjusted for familial confounding: 1-3 events OR 1.58 (CI = 1.21-2.07) 4 or more events OR 2.00 (CI = 1.45-2.75). Independent associations between the stressful life events: serious family problems OR 1.71 (CI = 1.36-2.15), physical illness OR 1.44 (CI = 1.17-1.77), divorce or separation OR 1.40 (CI = 1.15-1.70), and burnout symptoms were also found. The results indicate that stressful and traumatic life events are of importance in the burnout process. This finding may have implications in efforts to prevent burnout.

Investment casting using multi-jet modelling patterns: the thermogravimetric analysis of visijet® SR200 UV curable acrylate plastic

Rapid Prototyping (RP) technology is actively studied to be implemented in Investment Casting (IC) process. Nowadays RP techniques are studied for their feasibility as IC master patterns, in terms of pattern collapsibility and drainage during burnout. The purpose of the study is to determine the characteristic of Visijet® SR200 acrylate material during burnout process. Traditional IC patterns made from wax have properties that limit their application in precision casting, especially for parts with thin geometries that readily break or deform when handled or dipped in the refractory slurry. Furthermore, it is not economical when producing a small number of parts. Non wax patterns fabricated for IC process, revealed ceramic shell cracking due to excessive thermal expansions, incomplete collapsibility of pattern during burnout, residual ash and poor surface finish. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to measured the weight loss of acrylate material as the temperature was increased. TGA measured the change of material's mass as it is heated. It represents the decomposition temperature after being subjected to varying temperatures, as well as the amount of residual ash. In this experiment, the temperature range was from 20°C to 700°C with 5°C increment. Experiment results show the values of material's optimum reaction temperature and decomposing temperature of Visijet® SR200 acrylate. The percentages of remaining materials were also monitored throughout the process to obtain the amount of residual ash. All of the temperature values obtained is a resemblance for the actual burnout process and can be used as references.

Gender differences in burnout among municipal police sergeants

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to compare the levels and predictors of burnout between female and male sergeants in a large municipal law enforcement agency.Design/methodology/approach– This study used surveys of 171 female and 737 male sergeants. In the survey they described their extent of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, and reported on other issues that affect burnout. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to compare the levels and predictors of these chronic stress reactions.Findings– Female sergeants expressed higher levels of emotional exhaustion and lower levels of depersonalization than male sergeants. Also, the burnout process is largely consistent between female and male sergeants, driven by similar factors, including feelings of work-life conflict and relations with peers and supervisors.Research limitations/implications– The survey was fielded in one organization, which may or may not be representative of other agencies. Future studies of different organizations are needed to test external validity and refine the theoretical model.Practical implications– The results indicate the importance of studying the different components of burnout as well as allocating organizational resources to mitigating these conditions. Programs focussed on mentoring female sergeants or younger sergeants would be beneficial.Originality/value– Prior research has not examined how the burnout experiences of female sergeants differ from or resemble their male counterparts as typically their numbers are too small to conduct a reliable test of differences and predictors. By focussing on a single large department, this obstacle can be overcome, while controlling for other variables.

Dynamics of chromosome number in long structured phylogenetic branch of monocotyledons: A general scheme of karyotype evolution

The model of periodic changes in the basic chromosome number x in the long structured phylogenetic branches (LSPB) of some monocotyledons has been developed as a first approximation. A two-stage saltational cryptaffinic transition between two evolutionary static groups has been proposed. In the case of the ancestral group of taxa, the dominating basic chromosome number x is equal to seven or eight; according to our previous study, ITS1 and ITS2 regions of rRNA in these taxa are depleted in cytosine and guanine (Chupov et al., 2007). At the first stage of the cryptaffinic transition, the basic chromosome number significantly increases up to x = 18–30, and rRNA is saturated with cytosine and guanine residues and CpG sequences. At the same time, no significant morphological or taxonomical transformations occur. At the second stage, the x value often becomes equal to 11–12, and critical morphological and taxonomical changes take place. Then, the process of the dC-to-dT transformation becomes predominant in rRNA (Chupov and Machs, 2010). This zone of LSPB can be characterized as the region of the innovation genome reintegration. Then, the basic chromosome number can drop again to x = 7, 8, or even lower, and the process of cytosine burnout continues in rRNA. This process can be periodically repeated in the LSPB.

Burning Oil Layer on the Surface of Water

The results of investigations on combustion of Karazhanbas and Tengiz oil on the surface of water are presented. The minimum thickness of oil layer allowing to initiate and support the process of combustion is stated to be lie in the range of 3–5 mm. For ignition and maintenance of stable combustion of oil on water surface, a synthetic sorbent is proposed. It is found that, the synthetic sorbent accelerates the combustion process of oil on water surface threefold in comparison with the combustion process of oil without a sorbent. It is shown that the remaining mass of oil on water surface after combustion process termination, presents a bituminous substance having a good coalescence and high adhesion that allows to collect it with high efficiency by a mechanical method. The process of ignition and combustion of oil on the water surface is significantly affected by contained in it combustible volatiles. In this paper, on the example of oil from Tengiz field, the regularities of the influence of temperature and salinity on evaporation of light fractions and the burnout process are revealed. It is determined that the degree of water salinity does not affect the process of evaporation of light fractions of oil, this process is significantly affected by temperature water. The research has shown that the important factors that influence the degree of burning of the oil layer on the surface of water is the degree of salinity and the initial temperature of water, while these relationships are complex. Revealed that the salt water burning process more profitable to produce oil at water temperatures above 20 °C. The developed model in has been supplemented with a coefficient of thermal conductivity as a function depending on temperature. Numerical results more accurately predict the experimental observations. The reason is that thermal diffusivity is determined more precisely.

The importance of unhealthy behaviors and familial factors in the association between self-reported symptoms of burnout and stress-related sick-leave: a twin study

Background In Sweden, stress related illness is a major public health problem. Symptoms of burnout are common and stress-related mental diagnoses are one of the most common reasons for sick-leave. Previous studies have shown that both burnout and sick-leave are influenced by genetic factors and that unhealthy behaviors may be of importance in the burnout process. This prospective study aims to assess the influence of unhealthy behaviors and familial (genetic and shared environmental) factors on the association between burnout …

Developmental process of academic burnout among Korean middle school students

This study examined the longitudinal relationships between three dimensions of academic burnout—emotional exhaustion, cynicism and academic inefficacy—by considering Korean middle school students. A total of 405 middle school students participated in the survey (Time 1: n=367, Time 2: n=382, Time 3: n=375). They were conducted at the end of every semester for three times at a 6-month interval (grade 7th-2, 8th-1 and 8th-2). Most participants were 13years old at the time of the first survey; 56.6% (n=229) of them were female. We used the Korean version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory—Student Survey to measure the level of academic burnout; we also employed autoregressive cross-lagged modeling with Amos 18.0 to explore the longitudinal relationships between the three dimensions. As a result, all autoregressive coefficients were found to be significant. That is, paths from emotional exhaustion at Time 1(2) to emotional exhaustion at Time 2(3), from cynicism at Time 1(2) to cynicism at Time 2(3) and from academic inefficacy at Time 1(2) to academic inefficacy at Time 2(3) were statistically significant. In addition, the results revealed that the cross-lagged coefficients from emotional exhaustion at Time 1(2) to cynicism at Time 2(3) and those from academic inefficacy at Time 1(2) to cynicism at Time 2(3) were statistically significant. All other cross-lagged coefficients were not significant (i.e., from emotional exhaustion to academic inefficacy, from cynicism to emotional exhaustion, from cynicism to academic inefficacy and from academic inefficacy to emotional exhaustion). These results have important implications for the prevention of academic burnout and for future research.

Exploring correlates of burnout dimensions in a sample of psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners: A cross-sectional study.

The primary purpose of this article is to investigate demographic and work-related correlates of three burnout dimensions, that is, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment, using a national sample of psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners (PRPs). An online survey was filled out by 1,639 PRPs who provided demographic, work-related, and burnout data. Complete data for hypotheses testing using stepwise regression analyses was available for 813 PRPs. Lower than expected levels of burnout dimensions were found among PRPs. All 3 study hypotheses were at least partially supported. Looking at individual correlates of burnout dimensions, education level was positively related to emotional exhaustion, age was negatively related to depersonalization, and age and length of service were both negatively related to diminished personal accomplishment. Personal involvement was positively related to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Regression results were also supportive of the mental health burnout process model, that is, emotional exhaustion explaining depersonalization, which then combined with emotional exhaustion to help further explain diminished personal accomplishment. Study limitations are acknowledged. This study updates the results of a prior 1996 PRP survey (Blankertz & Robinson, 1996) using a demographically comparable (i.e., gender, race, education level, primary area of study) sample. Reducing one's personal involvement with clients seems important to reducing PRP emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Emotional exhaustion is generally acknowledged to be the key component to burnout and reducing it via peer support group sessions is recommended.

Administrational Factors as Predictors of Teacher Burnout across Iranian and Turkish EFL Teachers

The study aimed at measuring the perceived burnout levels of Iranian (N= 230) and Turkish (N=156) EFL teachers and determining the role of four administrational factors (i.e., Teacher Autonomy, Reward Adequacy, Fairness, and Fringe Benefits) in predicting EE, DP and PA burnout processes across Iranian and Turkish EFL teachers. The MBI-ES was used to measure the perceived burnout levels of the participants, and a four-dimension scale (41 items) was developed based on the literature study to measure the participants’ perceptions in these four areas. The average internal consistency reliability of the 41-item scale was r = 0.703. The results of t-tests analyses showed that there was a slight significant difference between Iranian and Turkish groups only in EE burnout processes. Moreover, the results of regression analyses showed that EE, DP, and PA subscales were better predicted by Fairness factor among Iranian teachers, while by Teacher Autonomy among Turkish teachers. Finally, the contrasted results also revealed that Teacher Autonomy, Reward Adequacy, and Fairness factors had cross-culturally discriminatory roles, while Fringe Benefits factor did not have.