Occupational burnout

This article is about burnout related to one's occupation. For long-term loss of focus (over many years), see burnout (psychology).

Occupational burnout or job burnout is characterized by exhaustion, lack of enthusiasm and motivation, feelings of ineffectiveness, and also may have the dimension of frustration or cynicism, and as a result reduced efficacy within the workplace.[1] A growing body of evidence suggests that burnout is clinically and nosologically similar to depression.[2][3][4][5][6] Burnout is caused by long-term high stress levels, and occupational burnout is a type of stress itself.[1]

Occupational burnout is typically and particularly found within human service professions. Professions with high levels of burnout include social workers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, engineers, physicians, customer service representatives, and police officers.[7] One reason why burnout is so prevalent within the human services field is due in part, to the high stress work environment and emotional demands of the job.[1]

Causes and symptoms

Burnout is caused by stressors that a person is unable to cope with fully. Occupational burnout often develops slowly and may not be recognized until it has become severe. When one's expectations about a job and its reality differ, burnout can begin. [1]

Symptoms of burnout include dysfunctional attitudes towards work, exhaustion, loss of motivation, distress, and feelings of ineffectiveness. Poor coping mechanisms can contribute to or result from burnout.[1]

Prevention

For the purpose of preventing occupational burnout, various stress management interventions have been shown to help improve employee health and wellbeing in the workplace and lower stress levels. Training employees in ways to manage stress in the workplace have also proven effective in prevention of burnout.[8] 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.[9] Increased job control is another intervention shown to help counteract exhaustion and cynicism in the workplace.[10]

Burnout prevention programs have traditionally focused on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), cognitive restructuring, didactic stress management, and relaxation. CBT, relaxation techniques (including physical techniques and mental techniques), and schedule changes are the best-supported techniques for reducing and preventing burnout in a health-care specific setting. Combining both organizational and individual level activities may be the most beneficial approach to reduce symptoms.[1]

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 to the same preventive or treatment activities in different ways.[11] 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.[12]

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.[11] 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.

Effects

Usually occupational burnout is associated with increased work experience, increased workload, but also absences and time missed from work, it shows up as an impaired empathy and cynical attitudes toward clientele and/or colleagues, and thoughts of quitting.[13]

Burnout is not classified as a psychological disease but rather as a form of psychological stress.[1]

Responder apathy syndrome

Responder apathy syndrome (RAS) is a controversial psychological diagnosis connected to occupational burnout that is not recognized by most physicians or psychologists.[14] Originally developed to explain the apathy seen in paramedics[15] and firefighters toward those calling for their help, the definition has generally been expanded to include nurses, respiratory therapists and other health care workers involved in direct patient care. Generally diagnosticians term the symptoms as generalized burnout[16] and ignore the occupation specific burnout termed RAS.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Ruotsalainen JH, Verbeek JH, Mariné A, Serra C (2014). "Preventing occupational stress in healthcare workers". The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 12: CD002892. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD002892.pub4. PMID 25482522.
  2. ↑ Ahola, K., Hakanen, J., Perhoniemi, R., & Mutanen, P. (2014). Relationship between burnout and depressive symptoms: A study using the person-centred approach. Burnout Research, 1(1), 29-37.
  3. ↑ Bianchi, R., & Laurent, E. (in press). Emotional information processing in depression and burnout: An eye-tracking study. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience.
  4. ↑ Bianchi, R., Schonfeld, I. S., & Laurent, E. (2014). Is burnout a depressive disorder? A re-examination with special focus on atypical depression. International Journal of Stress Management, 21(4), 307-324.
  5. ↑ Bianchi, R., Schonfeld, I. S., & Laurent, E. (in press). Is burnout separable from depression in cluster analysis? A longitudinal study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.
  6. ↑ Hintsa, T., Elovainio, M., Jokela, M., Ahola, K., Virtanen, M., & Pirkola, S. (in press). Is there an independent association between burnout and increased allostatic load? Testing the contribution of psychological distress and depression. Journal of Health Psychology.
  7. ↑ Jackson, S., Schwab, R., & Schuler, R. (1986, November). Toward an understanding of the burnout phenomenon. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71(4), 630-640.
  8. ↑ William D. McLaurine, A correlational study of job burnout and organizational commitment among correctional officers, Capella University. School of Psychology, pp. 92
  9. ↑ 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.
  10. ↑ Hatinen, M., Kinnunen, U., Pekkonen, M., and Kalimo, R. (2007). Comparing two burnout interventions: Perceived job control mediates decreases in burnout. International Journal of Stress Management. 14(3), 227-248
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 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.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ 4Responder Apathy Syndrome. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  15. ↑ Rubin M (2011). "Get a clue: It can be all too easy to make assessment errors in the field; here's some tips to prevent you from making mistakes.". EMS World 40 (9): 57–64. PMID 21961428.
  16. ↑ Dickinson T, Wright KM (2008). "Stress and burnout in forensic mental health nursing: a literature review.". Br J Nurs 17 (2): 82–7. doi:10.12968/bjon.2008.17.2.28133. PMID 18414278.

Further reading