Managing Occupational Therapy Burnout

Abstract

Burnout has been conceptualized as an ineffective coping response to stress experienced on the job. This article will explore the construct of burnout as reported in the literature of the helping professions. An emphasis will be placed on prevention and remediation strategies, particularly those aimed at organizational causes of burnout for occupational therapists.

Stress in Occupational Therapy: How to Cope

“…3,4,12 It has been expressed as quantitative, that is, having too much to do, or qualitative, namely being asked to perform tasks which are too difficult." Hingley and Harris 12 found that 85"10 of the senior nurses in their sample of 515 cited work overload as the most frequent source of stress.…”

“…A similar situation is acknowledged in occupational therapy. 3 Responsibility is another source of strain mentioned by several authors. 3,4,9 Responsibility for people has been reported as an additional burden, demanding that time and effort be spent in interaction."…”

Icelandic occupational therapists' attitudes toward educational and professional issues

“…Group work used in occupational therapy (Duncombe & Howe, 1985, family involvement in practive (Humphry, Gonzalez & Taylor, 1993), motivation to enter private practice (McClain, McKinney & Ralston, 1992), relationship between various factors in practice and job satisfaction (Bordieri, 1988;Brollier, Bender, Cyranowski & Velletri, 1986;Brollier, 1985aBrollier, , 1985bFlorian, Sheffer & Sachs, 1985;Jacob, 1994;Taylor, Madill, & Macnab, 1990), meaning therapists find in their practice (Hasselkus & Dickie, 1990), involvement in research activities (Taylor & Mitchell, 1990), experiences occupational therapist have in their practice (Finlay, 1997) and…”