Nature Of Burnout Research Articles

The desire for power within activist burnout. An illustration of the value of interpretive social science

AbstractEven though we know activists want to change the world, including the people living therein, we are often disinclined to see in activism the desire for social power, thinking of “power” as a dirty word. However, by overlooking this aspect of activist motivation, we may be occluding our view onto an important aspect of activist frustration which can lead to burnout. Data collected among German environmental activists suggest that, controlling for self‐esteem and resilience, social power motivation does indeed predict levels of burnout. However, rather than causing burnout as though it were an independent variable apart from burnout (i.e., as seen within a “naturalistic” approach), it is argued that—given the nature of activism as the enacted desire to change others—the frustrated desire for social power is part of what burnout inherently is for activists. Thus, by taking the perspective of “interpretive social science,” the current piece attempts to encourage both reflection on the particulars of burnout among activists and greater sensitivity to the context‐dependent nature of burnout in general.

2019 TOKYO DECLARATION

As the Congress explored the nature of burnout among doctors and health professionals in differing settings and in different nations it is clear that burnout is a global phenomenon. An organizational paradigm changes to a person- and people-centered system that incorporates complexity, is adaptive and integrative is essential. Such a change will enable continuing medical education be effective and the current unaffordable and unnecessary waste of human resources that the Congress identified reduced. The Congress reviewed a range of features precipitating burnout including a dysfunctional work–life balance and a variety of relatively simple individually protective factors. It is because of this variety that person- and people-centered initiatives rather than narrowly based top-down management solutions will prove effective Individual-level actions can be taken to reduce stress and poor health symptoms through effective coping and promoting healthy behavior. But there needs to be a much better alignment between the health system and the individual physician so that there are shared professional values within a clear medical ethical framework [23] that encourages professional development and adaptation to the health service environment and health system.

The tired hero and her (il)legitimation: Reworking Parsons to analyse experiences of burnout within the Dutch employment system and lifeworld.

Burnout is an illness label, and in some healthcare systems a diagnostic category, which has received growing attention and usage. Despite its ubiquity and widespread media coverage, the medical sociological literature on the condition remains small and the wider sociological literature tends to treat the rise of burnout as a straightforward reflection of changing working environments. Very few studies have critically reflected on the nature of burnout, its diagnosis and lived experiences of the condition. This neglect is surprising given the relative legitimacy of burnout as an illness category in several national healthcare contexts, not least in the Netherlands. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with a range of burnout sufferers (n=18) and diagnosing professionals (n=12) in the Netherlands, we explore participants' narrated understandings of the condition in light of a reworked Parsonian framework. Narratives suggested sufferers of burnout generally received legitimation, often being understood as hardworking, diligent and altruistic. Experiences of (partial) acceptance through a medical label, and the relative lack of stigma were important to sense-making and coping. This recognition of burnout was particularly striking, given several features burnout shares with conditions commonly associated with ontological doubt, moral suspicion and stigma. Yet recognition of commitment and strength sat in tension with psychological assistance, which sought to correct tendencies for working too hard for too long. Drawing on insights from Habermas's extensive reformulation of Parsons's work, we understand the legitimation and tensions around burnout care in light of meanings, metaphors and manipulation which, in turn, we locate in relation to the functioning of wider socio-cultural lifeworlds and political-economic systems, including the sediments of earlier political-economic and cultural structures.

Having “grit” helps doctors avoid burnout, researchers find

High levels of “grit” or resilience are associated with lower levels of burnout in UK doctors, researchers have found.1 The correlation was found among different groups of doctors, with consultants recording significantly higher levels of grit than trainees. But it was not present among GPs who, as a group, had the highest levels of burnout. The authors said that the nature of burnout in GPs could be different from that of other colleagues and that when burnout levels are very high the “protective role that grit can play could be lost.” The UK study, …

Testing burnout syndrome as a psychiatric disorder among nursing staff of different medical settings

BackgroundThe high risk for professional burnout noted among nurses has led to a growing interest in the psychosocial work environment. The aim of this study was to discuss the importance of revising the nature of burnout as an illness to be considered in psychiatric classification and to find out t

Burnout amongst urban secondary school teachers in Namibia

Orientation: Burnout seems to be particularly common amongst professionals who help and enable people to cope with the demands of their daily lives.Motivation for the study: The study focused on the magnitude and nature of burnout amongst Namibian teachers as well as the influence of biographical factors on their levels of burnout. Another aim was to determine the extent to which the results of this study correlate with research findings in other countries.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a non-experimental research method. The study involved more than 300 secondary school teachers from the Windhoek region of Namibia. They administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and a biographical questionnaire to achieve the goals of the study.Main findings: The main findings of the study were that the participants experienced similar levels of burnout compared to teachers in other countries. This was especially true for emotional exhaustion. Teaching experience was the biographical variable that yielded the most significant positive correlation with burnout.Practical/managerial implications: The education authorities should address the emotional needs of secondary school teachers in Namibia urgently. They should introduce effective burnout intervention and prevention programmes. These programmes could result in higher levels of job satisfaction and educational effectiveness. They could also lead to increased general fulfilment and better teacher retention.

The Nature of Burn-Out and the Burn-Out of Nature: The Sloth and the Chickadee. Socio-Psychological, Ecological, Sacral-Political and Ethical Implications. Jungian and Alchemical Perspectives

Beginning with the analytic field, this paper introduces the problem of burn-out as one of self-neglect that can be understood as ultimately suicidal. There follows a brief outline of the aetiology of the pathology, before indicating the direction in which healing may lie. The origins of a holistic worldview are being traced that allow us to see the unity in the complexities of the different facets: the ancient teachings of the Chinese alchemists that later were reflected in the unus mundus concept of, first Egyptian and Arabic, then European alchemical traditions. These ideas are linked with recent and current ecological concerns by drawing parallels between one of the most important European alchemist-healers of the past – Paracelsus – and, moving to recent modern times, Wilhelm Reich. Here, the focus is on the later period of Reich’s work. With his holistic perspective, Reich cannot only be seen as continuing the alchemist traditions, but should also be respected as the first eco-psychologist. The paper leads to the spiritual implications of these ideas, towards a re-sacralization of analysis and radical (eco-)politics, and ends with suggestions towards possible solutions of the present dilemma of individual, collective and global burn-out in presenting the concept of ‘radical hope’. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Burnout among bibliographic instruction librarians

The literature of library and information science suggests that bibliographic instruction (BI) librarians are at risk for burnout, a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and loss of a sense of personal accomplishment. To assess the extent and nature of burnout in this group, the author administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a Role Questionnaire to BI librarians in comprehensive and liberal arts colleges in New England, using a mailed survey. Analysis of the survey data indicated that BI librarians experience burnout, with 52.8% reporting high burnout in one dimension of the syndrome and 8.5% showing high burnout in all three dimensions. Role conflict contributes to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions of burnout. Follow-up interviews explored the nature of the role conflict experienced by survey respondents. Christina Maslach, a pioneer in the study of burnout, defines this condition as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization (loss of empathy for clients), and reduced personal accomplishment that can occur among individuals who do people work of some kind. A key aspect… is increased feelings of emotional exhaustion; as emotional resources are depleted, workers feel they are no longer able to give of themselves at a psychological level. Another aspect… is the development of depersonalization—i.e., negative and cynical attitudes and feelings about one's clients … A third aspect of the burnout syndrome, reduced personal accomplishment, refers to a tendency to evaluate oneself negatively … (Maslach & Jackson, 1986, p.1).

The nature of burnout: A study of the three‐factor model of burnout in human service and non‐human service samples

The factor structure of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) in a human service sample (teachers) and non‐human service sample (computer company employees) was investigated. Critics of the three‐factor model underlying the MBI (Garden, 1987, 1989; Shirom, 1989) have suggested that the exhaustion factor represents the only intrinsic dimension of burnout and that the other dimensions, particularly depersonalization, are artifacts of the human service samples used to generate the original structure. Confirmatory factor analysis of four models of the dimensionality of the MBI offered partial support to the critics by showing that depersonalization indicators do not form a coherent factor in the non‐human service sample. However, a coherent lack of personal accomplishment factor was found in the non‐human service sample. Results are discussed in the context of the ongoing debate on the nature of burnout.