Relationships between role stress, professional identity, and burnout among contemporary school counselors

Abstract

Continuous exposure to stress has psychological and physiological consequences for employees, especially for mental health professionals whose professions are known as demanding and stressful. The current study focuses on the relationship between role stress and burnout in the contemporary school counselors' role. We also aimed to examine whether professional identity might serve as a protective mechanism against burnout. School counselors (N = 205, 96% female, mean age = 43.03) currently practicing in the Israeli education system filled out questionnaires assessing their perceived role stress, burnout, and professional identity. Results indicated that school counselors perceived noncounseling role stressors as more stressful than counseling role stressors. Noncounseling role stressors contributed to burnout more than counseling role stressors. Professional identity was negatively correlated with burnout. Last, professional identity moderated the relationship between role stress and burnout. Findings highlight the negative impact of noncounseling stressors on burnout and the importance of professional identity as a protective factor against burnout among school counselors.

Exploring self-care experiences of school counsellors: A qualitative study

“…Most of these obstacles are caused by the school settings, such as excessive workloads, administrative and non-counselling duties, and role ambiguity. Likewise, studies conducted in a variety of countries noted that school counsellors encounter similar challenges (e.g., Caple, 2018;Maor & Hemi, 2021;McCarthy et al, 2010). Hence, policymakers may take some precautions such as identifying the boundaries of school counsellors clearly in the regulations, developing self-care policies, and organizing seminars, and training for school administrators to enable them better understand counselling to prevent these challenges.…”

“…academic, social-emotional, career development, occupational choices, and university transitions, as well as their overall personal and social development (American School Counsellor Association [ASCA], 2021; Corey & Corey, 2020; Turkish Ministry of National Education [TMNE], 2020). In addition to multiple job responsibilities, school counsellors are frequently asked to do non-counselling duties, such as clerical and administrative roles due to role ambiguity (Kim & Lambie, 2018;Lambie, 2007;Maor & Hemi, 2021). These wide work demands and heavy workloads, as well as limited coping resources and inadequate professional supervision, increase the stress level of school counsellors (Lambie, 2002;McCarthy et al, 2010).…”

The Effect of Perceived Over-Qualification on Turnover Intention From a Cognition Perspective

“…Further, its effect on perceived over-qualification in relation to individual cognition requires further investigation. Professional identity refers to the combination of employees' positive perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral tendencies toward their profession and internalized professional roles (Baugh et al, 2005;Canrinus et al, 2012;Maor and Hemi, 2021). The development of an employee's professional identity is based on the collaboration of individuals and colleagues, and is created through interactions between employees and their work environments (Hu and Sang, 2013;Afzal et al, 2019).…”

Psikolojik Danışmanların Duygusal Emek Stratejilerinin Tükenmişlik Düzeyleri Üzerindeki Etkisinin İncelenmesi

“…It has been stated that psychological counselors, who have the roles of teaching and counseling together, experience role conflicts. It has also been determined that this conflict has a relationship with burnout (Bardhoshi et al, 2014;Maor & Hemi, 2021). Examination of the role conflict of psychological counselors in terms of emotional labor and burnout in future studies may contribute to the literature.…”

“…Öğretmen ve danışman rollerini bir arada bulunduran psikolojik danışmanların rol çatışması yaşadıkları dile getirilmiştir. Ayrıca bu çatışmanın tükenmişlikle bir ilişkisinin bulunduğu saptanmıştır (Bardhoshi vd., 2014;Maor ve Hemi, 2021). Yaşanan çatışmanın, duygusal emek ve duygusal emeğin tükenmişlikle olan ilişkisindeki rolünün ileride yapılacak olan araştırmalarda incelenmesi literatüre katkı sağlayabilir.…”