Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry

Abstract

The experience of burnout has been the focus of much research during the past few decades. Measures have been developed, as have various theoretical models, and research studies from many countries have contributed to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of this occupationally-specific dysphoria. The majority of this work has focused on human service occupations, and particularly health care. Research on the burnout experience for psychiatrists mirrors much of the broader literature, in terms of both sources and outcomes of burnout. But it has also identified some of the unique stressors that mental health professionals face when they are dealing with especially difficult or violent clients. Current issues of particular relevance for psychiatry include the links between burnout and mental illness, the attempts to redefine burnout as simply exhaustion, and the relative dearth of evaluative research on potential interventions to treat and/or prevent burnout. Given that the treatment goal for burnout is usually to enable people to return to their job, and to be successful in their work, psychiatry could make an important contribution by identifying the treatment strategies that would be most effective in achieving that goal.

At-Risk Teachers: The Association Between Burnout Levels and Emotional Appraisal Processes

“…It has been defined as comprising emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and a decrease in professional accomplishment [32 -35]. The first of these dimensions, emotional exhaustion, characterized by the inability to accept and manage new emotional situations, is also related to feelings of strain, particularly chronic fatigue resulting from overtaxing work, loss of energy, debilitation, and fatigue [36]. The second dimension, known as cynicism or depersonalization, involves distancing oneself from others, and it has been described as a strategy for coping with stressful events; it has also been characterized in terms of negative or inappropriate attitudes towards clients, irritability, loss of idealism, and withdrawal.…”

Burnout among nurses working in critical care settings: a case of a selected tertiary hospital in Rwanda

“…1 Burnout is due to prolonged work related stress that is not managed. In a work environment this leads to high worker turnover, absenteeism, compromise of interpersonal relationships, reduced productivity and low personal achievement.…”

From burnout to engagement at work: Multi-sample empirical results in healthcare professionals

“…Es por esto, que ha sido foco de muchas investigaciones durante las últimas décadas. Se han desarrollado medidas, así como varios modelos teóricos, y los estudios de investigación de muchos países han contribuido a una mejor comprensión del fenómeno (Maslach y Leiter, 2016;Salanova y Llorens, 2008). …”

“…Por esta razón, el estudio del engagement se ha convertido extremadamente relevante, tanto entre investigadores/as como profesionales. Este engagement se refiere a un estado de ánimo positivo, satisfactorio, relacionado con el trabajo que caracteriza a los/las empleados/as que trabajan duro y persisten a pesar de las dificultades, están fuertemente involucrados en lo que hacen y se sienten felizmente absorbidos en su trabajo (Consiglio, Borgogni, Tecco y Schaufeli, 2016;Maslach y Leiter, 2016). En líneas generales hace referencia al sentimiento de conexión energétiva y efectiva que las personas tienen con su trabajo (Salanova, Schaufeli, Llorens, Peiró y Grau, 2000).…”

“…El cinismo describe tener una actitud distante y negativa hacia el trabajo, y la eficacia profesional reducida se refiere a la creencia de que uno/una ya no es efectivo/a en el cumplimiento de las responsabilidades de un trabajo. Se supone que estas dimensiones son consecuencias negativas del estrés laboral crónico (Maslach y Leiter, 2016).…”