Psychotherapist burnout: A componential analysis.

A random sample of 68 practicing psychotherapists in Texas completed surveys that included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, demographic questions, and questions designed to assess their intent to leave the profession, their treatment orientation, and their perceived ideal caseload. Results indicated that demographic variables and treatment orientation were not accurate predictors of therapists' burnout. However, psychotherapists who worked for agencies had more symptoms of burnout than did colleagues who worked solely in private practice. The therapists' actual caseload was not associated with burnout, but their satisfaction with their caseload was. Therapists who indicated that their ideal caseload would be smaller than their current caseload were more burned out than those who were satisfied with their caseload. In addition, burnout was predictive of the therapists' reported intentions to leave psychotherapy for other professions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Burnout, job setting, and self-evaluation among rehabilitation counselors.

Surveyed 38 rehabilitation counselors to investigate the relationship of experienced burnout to self-concept and job setting. Ss completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and a questionnaire about their work. The emotional exhaustion component of burnout emerged as the key factor in the results. Emotional exhaustion was related to work overload and a perceived lack of control. It was also linked to dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the job. Findings are consistent with previous theorizing and research on burnout by J. Gaines and J. M. Jermier (see record 1984-10923-001) and C. Maslach and S. E. Jackson (see record 1985-24012-001) and underscore the relevance of this phenomenon for the rehabilitation profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational and individual factors influencing job satisfaction and burnout of mental health workers

Job satisfaction and burnout are important areas of study because of the financial and social effects of job satisfaction and the damaging physical/psychological impacts of burnout. Two hundred family/children and psychiatric workers of seven social service organizations were surveyed. Instruments used were the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Staff Burnout Scale for Health Professionals. Reported levels of job satisfaction and burnout are within normal limits. Psychiatric and family/children workers report equal job satisfaction levels, but the latter group reports significantly higher burnout levels. Both groups are particularly satisfied with the amount of praise delivered by supervisors and are reportedly dissatisfied with salary levels and promotional opportunities. These three factors are strongly associated with job satisfaction and burnout levels of both groups. Findings have practical implications for social service administrators and practitioners. Correlates of satisfaction and burnout can be altered in order to maintain employee satisfaction and reduce burnout, absenteeism and turnover.     

Depression, burnout, and perceptions of control in hospital nurses.

Depression, burnout, and perceived job control (PJC) were assessed in 162 nurses. Depression accounted for over 19% of the variance associated with emotional exhaustion, an index of burnout, and PJC accounted for another 6%. Factor analysis of the scales used to measure depression and burnout documented their discriminant validity. Perceptions of uncontrollability were significantly related to higher levels of depression and burnout. Structural equations modeling suggested that perceived uncontrollability is associated with burnout, which, in turn, is related to depressive affect. Against a criterion of actual job control, non-burned-out Ss overestimated their control, whereas burned-out Ss approached complete agreement with criterion. Despite evidence for a "depressive realism effect," greater perceptual accuracy was not attributable to depression among the more burned-out nurses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The process and dimensions of burnout in psychotherapists.

Conducted 2-hr semistructured interviews with a heterogeneous group of 60 psychotherapists to investigate their experiences of therapeutic practice. According to the Ss, professional satisfaction derives from the ability to promote a helpful therapeutic relationship; dissatisfaction stems primarily from lack of therapeutic success; and burnout is primarily a consequence of the nonreciprocated attentiveness, giving, and responsibility demanded by the therapeutic relationship. Other reasons for burnout included overwork, isolation, and discouragement as a function of the slow pace of the work. Most Ss felt that support systems were essential to resisting burnout. The data suggest that although therapists expect their work to be difficult and even stressful, they also expect their efforts to be rewarding. Burnout is not only psychologically debilitating to therapists, it also critically impairs the delivery of mental health services. (48 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward an understanding of the burnout phenomenon.

Tested 9 hypotheses about the burnout phenomenon, defined as a 3-component syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of low personal accomplishment. Burnout was hypothesized to be associated with unmet employee expectations and job conditions. Hypothesized consequences of burnout included (a) preferred job type, (b) subsequent thoughts about leaving, (c) job-search behaviors, (d) training received, (e) intentions to leave, and (f) voluntary leaving. Elementary and secondary school teachers (median age 36 yrs) responded to 2 questionnaires mailed to their homes; 1 yr elapsed between completion of the 2 questionnaires. Regression analyses of time-lagged data (N?=?248) supported many of the hypothesized correlates of employee burnout. It is suggested that improved conceptualizations about the burnout phenomenon are needed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of social support and burnout, job satisfaction, and productivity.

Social support has been identified as an important correlate of a variety of work outcomes. Support from different sources, including family, coworkers, and supervisors, was examined in 211 traffic enforcement agents (92 men, 119 women). Outcomes included subjective variables (burnout and job satisfaction) and an objective measure of productivity (number of summonses). Support was negatively associated with burnout and positively associated with satisfaction and productivity. A cluster of support variables accounted for 7% of the variance in burnout and productivity and 12% of the variance in job satisfaction. Family support was more closely associated with burnout than with satisfaction or productivity, whereas immediate supervisor support was related to satisfaction and productivity but not burnout. Results suggest that support may be associated with work-related outcomes through multiple pathways. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body image, self-esteem, expectations, self-assessments, and actual success in a simulated job interview.

98 female undergraduates completed the Body Image Satisfaction Scale, Self-Cathexis Scale, Janis-Field-Eagly Self-Esteem Scale, and a job interview performance expectation scale prior to participating in a 15-min simulated job interview. After the job interviews, Ss rated their own performance. Two judges independently rated each S's performance by viewing videotapes of the job interviews. Expectations for job interview success were significantly related to both body satisfaction and self-esteem. Job interview self-ratings and the tendency to overrate or underestimate how well one actually performed were significantly related to self-esteem but not to body satisfaction. Body satisfaction was found to be subsumed by self-esteem in ability to predict interview expectations and self-assessments. Actual quality of interview performance was not related to either self-esteem or body attitudes. Discussion focuses on self-esteem consistency theory and implications for assisting applicants to assess more accurately their behavior in actual job interviews. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The job demands-resources model of burnout.

The job demands-resources (JD-R) model proposes that working conditions can be categorized into 2 broad categories, job demands and job resources, that are differentially related to specific outcomes. A series of LISREL analyses using self-reports as well as observer ratings of the working conditions provided strong evidence for the JD-R model: Job demands are primarily related to the exhaustion component of burnout, whereas (lack of) job resources are primarily related to disengagement. Highly similar patterns were observed in each of 3 occupational groups: human services, industry, and transport (total N?=?374). In addition, results confirmed the 2-factor structure (exhaustion and disengagement) of a new burnout instrument—the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory—and suggested that this structure is essentially invariant across occupational groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivation, comportements organisationnels discrétionnaires et bien-être en milieu Africain: Quand le devoir oblige?

This study tested an organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) model based on the motivational model of job burnout (MMJB) with Gabonese employees (N = 146). It was hypothesized that to the degree that employees perceive their supervisors as promoting their autonomy, competence and relatedness, their motivation at work will be more self-determined. Supervisory style and motivation would then predict job satisfaction, which in turn influences life satisfaction. Work motivation and job satisfaction should also determine OCB and the latter should then influence life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling analyses overall support the model. However, altruism OCB was negatively related to self-determined motivations, which then negatively predicted life satisfaction. These results support SDT's prediction that a behaviour regulated by non-self-determined motivations will negatively affect well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation employee organizational withdrawal behavior.

Conducted a selected 6-state follow-up of 85 rehabilitation employees who left state rehabilitation agency settings over a 1-yr period. Little advancement potential, little job satisfaction, stress/burnout, and personality differences were the primary reasons as to why Ss withdrew. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A longitudinal test of the investment model: The impact on job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover of variations in rewards, costs, alternatives, and investments.

A 12-mo longitudinal study of 88 newly hired nurses and junior accountants (mean age of all Ss 24 yrs) tested a series of assumptions from the authors' (see record 1981-31481-001) investment model concerning the determinants of job satisfaction, job commitment, and turnover. In general, greater job satisfaction resulted from high job rewards and low job costs; whereas strong job commitment was produced by high rewards, low costs, poor alternative quality, and large investment size. Whereas the impact of job rewards on satisfaction and commitment remained relatively constant, job costs seemed to exert an increasingly powerful influence over time. Investment size also exerted greater impact on job commitment with the passage of time. Just prior to their leaving, the job commitment of Ss who left was best predicted by a combination of rewards, costs, and alternatives. Ss who stayed and those who left differed from one another with regard to changes over time in each investment model factor—those who left experienced greater decline in rewards, increase in costs, increase in alternative quality, and decrease in investment size than those who stayed. Turnover appeared to be mediated by a decline over time in degree of job commitment. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of need for achievement on the job performance-job attitude relationship.

Studied the effect of employee need for achievement (n Ach) on the job performance-job attitude relationship among 1st-level supervisors. Ss were 133 females with a mean age of 42 yrs employed in a large public utility. Before need strength variations were considered, overall performance was found to be somewhat related to job satisfaction but not to job involvement. However, when Ss were split into high and low n Ach groups, performance was significantly related to both satisfaction and involvement for high n Ach Ss but not for low n Ach Ss. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of open tibial fracture with Ender nail

This study was designed to examine the burnout symptoms among nurses in different settings, differing by specialty, age, gender, number of years on the job, and place of work, in the People's Republic of China. A total of 1,100 nurses completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Burnout symptoms in nurses were related to setting, specialty, age, gender, place of work, and number of years on the job. The findings suggest that the physical features in clinics and in obstetrics and gynecology departments should be improved and that social and public health support systems, as well as stress management skills, should be offered to new nurses in order to improve their ability to cope with stress and to improve the quality of care for patients.     

Learned resourcefulness as a moderator of burnout in a sample of rehabilitation providers.

Investigated learned resourcefulness, assessed by the Self-Control Schedule as a moderator of burnout, among 260 rehabilitation workers. It was hypothesized that learned resourcefulness would moderate a tendency for burnout to increase with years of experience. In regression analyses, the interaction of learned resourcefulness and years of experience significantly predicted scores on the Personal Accomplishment (PAC) scale but not the Emotional Exhaustion or Depersonalization scales of the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Years of experience were associated with slight decreases in PAC scores for low resourceful Ss and slight increases for high resourceful Ss. Findings support the theoretical utility of learned resourcefulness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizational independence, leader behavior, and managerial practices: A replicated study.

Examined the moderating effects of organizational independence. Survey data were collected from 211 quasi-professional employees in 1 firm and from 111 hourly employees in another. Many findings were contrary to the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, job scope and leader hierarchical influence were more positively related to satisfaction for Ss who perceived organizational independence than for Ss with no such perceptions. Also, leader consideration and leader technical competence were more positively related to performance for Ss perceiving organizational independence. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Staff burnout and patient satisfaction: Evidence of relationships at the care unit level.

Research on burnout has thus far focused primarily on the individual; however, in work environments in which teamwork is emphasized, it seems plausible that a meaningful group-level burnout construct could emerge. This theory was tested by examining burnout in psychosocial rehabilitation teams and its effects on patient satisfaction. Three hundred thirty-three staff from 31 behavioral health teams completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory; 405 of the clients they served completed the Consumer Satisfaction Scale. Multilevel analyses (hierarchical linear modeling) confirmed the existence of a meaningful team-level burnout construct. Team-level analyses revealed significant relationships between team burnout and patient satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)