Although organizational and situational factors have been found to predict burnout, not everyone employed at the same workplace develops it, suggesting that becoming burnt out is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon. The aim of this study was to elucidate perceptions of conscience, stress of conscience, moral sensitivity, social support and resilience among two groups of health care personnel from the same workplaces, one group on sick leave owing to medically assessed burnout (n = 20) and one group who showed no indications of burnout (n = 20). The results showed that higher levels of stress of conscience, a perception of conscience as a burden, having to deaden one's conscience in order to keep working in health care and perceiving a lack of support characterized the burnout group. Lower levels of stress of conscience, looking on life with forbearance, a perception of conscience as an asset and perceiving support from organizations and those around them (social support) characterized the non-burnout group.

The incidence of burnout has increased in many industrialized countries. Burnout is mainly studied among people still at work and with quantitative methods. The present study aimed to illuminate the meanings of becoming and being burnout as narrated by healthcare personnel on sick leave because of symptoms of burnout. Interviews with 20 female healthcare personnel were performed, tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim and a phenomenological-hermeneutic method was used to interpret the text. The result shows that the meanings of becoming and being burnout are to be torn between what one wants to be and what one manages. It is as one's ideals have become more like demands and no matter the circumstances, one must be and show oneself as being capable and independent. It is also to be dissatisfied with oneself for not living up to one's ideals as well as disappointed with other people for not giving the confirmation one strives for. Feelings of being a victim of circumstances emerge. Thus, becoming and being burnout is leading a futile struggle to live up to one's ideal, failing to unite one's ideal picture with one's reality and experiencing an overwhelming feebleness. This is interpreted in the light of Buber's philosophy as well as relevant empirical studies about burnout. One conclusion is that it seems important to reflect on as well as discuss between one another about our everyday reality; what are reasonable vs. unreasonable demands. Hopefully, such reflections will increase our tolerance of ourselves and others and our insightfulness of what is possible to achieve in work as well as in private life. This study is ethically approved.

Burnout has become a major problem in many industrialized countries, but not everyone at the same work place develops burnout. The present paper aimed to illuminate meanings of staying healthy in a context where others developed burnout as narrated by healthcare personnel. Interviews were conducted with 20 healthcare personnel and were interpreted using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. The result shows that the meanings of staying healthy are to be rooted in an outlook on life perceiving its many-sidedness and the strengths and weaknesses of oneself and others with forbearance. One is striving to shoulder responsibility for oneself and for others and is also receptive towards the circumstances of life, striving to judge the possibilities of being and acting in order to attempt to influence things in what is believed to be the right direction. Being able to let go of injustice and look after oneself with a clear conscience is also revealed as meanings of staying healthy. In conclusion, forbearance with life's many-sidedness seems to pervade one's experiences, judgements and actions in life when dealing with one's reality, and thus, it is interpreted as essential for staying healthy in a context where others developed burnout. This study is ethically approved.

Stress-related illnesses, such as burnout, have increased over the last decade, but not everyone at the same workplace develops burnout, suggesting that individual factors may contribute to this phenomenon. The aim of this study was to describe patterns of personality traits among two groups of health-care personnel from the same workplaces, one group on sick leave due to medically-assessed burnout, and one group with no indication of burnout, respectively. Fourteen psychiatric- (n = 7) and elderly (n = 7)-care units, located in one specific area in a municipality in northern Sweden, participated in this questionnaire-based study. The participants (n = 40), on sick leave due to medically-assessed burnout (n = 20), and those with no indication of burnout (n = 20), respectively, completed Cattell's 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire between February and December 2004. Conventional statistical methods and partial least square regression were used to analyze data. The results showed that the burnout group had lower scores regarding emotional stability and higher scores regarding anxiety than the non-burnout group, but the results also showed a wide variation of personality traits within groups. The most important indicators for belonging to the burnout group were 'openness to changes' and 'anxiety', and for belonging to the non-burnout group, 'emotional stability', 'liveliness', 'privateness' (i.e. forthright or discreet), and 'tension'. The result indicates complex interactions between personality traits and the context in which the individual lives. It seems to be important to increase our awareness of when personality traits may constitute opportunities versus risks in dealing with one's existing circumstances.