Burnout Research has shown a burnout cycle, whereby employees display certain burnout tendencies and behaviours. They begin with feeling exhausted so engage in presenteeist behaviour, which later leads to exasperated levels of exhaustion. Employees begin to work hard to mediate against the effects of burnout, but in doing so they cause greater exhaustion. Other perspectives centre on employees working hard and long hours, displaying presenteeist behaviours, which leads to further exhaustion, followed by more presenteeism. It’s a chicken and egg phenomenon.
Researchers are on the fence as to what causes it- whether it is situational, individual or both. However, while individual differences, such as personality type and behavioural traits do play a role. Burnout is mostly caused by situational factors, especially situational factors that do not breed the desired result. In fact, the better the worker, the more prone to burnout.
Job demands, such as that discussed in the Job Demands Model, are linked to occupational stress and therefore burnout, which can be mediated by support from family and friends. While burnout was originally researched in the helping or people professions, it is not limited to these professions. Burnout is on the rise in occupations within the so-called square miles, where individuals are becoming deflated by the long hours, lack of organisational commitment and no real sense of purpose. Its impact transcends the organisational impact, and not only impacts on health and wellbeing, but the negative attitudes and loss of feeling caused by exhaustion, coupled with loss of idealism and purpose means that family and social life is affected.
Burnout leads to withdrawal of normal behaviours and pleasures, which further impacts on the wellbeing of the employee. For those in the service-related industry such as teaching, health and social care, it is particularly problematic because it impacts on the wellbeing of patients under the employee’s care. It can lead to decreased performance that impacts on patient care. Likewise, the impact of suffering in patients can affect employees, leading to burnout. Those in mental healthcare are particularly prone due to the embodying nature of their role and use of empathy, with those in longer service exhibiting high rates of burnout. Social workers and psychiatrists are particularly effected, rather than their colleagues, psychologists and support workers, who exhibit less signs overall, which risk a loss of compassion and empathy towards their clients. Outside of healthcare, those working in people faced roles such as teaching and lecturing are also at risk. Journalists working on sensationalised news pieces that deal with violent and traumatic events are also at risk.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued a report into stress reduction in the workplace and offered advice for organisations to help reduce stress. This is known as their Management Standards and includes six areas: demand, control, support, relationships, role and change. Their advice is for workplaces to manage these characteristics properly to mediate the effects of organisational stress that can lead to burnout. Healthy working environments, work-life balance and social support are proven mediators against organisational stress
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