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The Burnout Phenomenon

Keys for proactive burnout prevention

©2006 Wissenschaftliche Studie 56 Seiten

Zusammenfassung

Inhaltsangabe:Abstract:
Burnout is a multidimensional psychological syndrome that evolves as a reaction to chronic stress in the workplace. It results in an irrevocable depletion of a person’s energies and emotional resources with various negative consequences for individuals and organizations.
In the past 30 years researchers tried to understand the burnout construct in its complexity and offered diverse answers to questions of why burnout appears and how it can be measured. But despite the broad academic research on burnout, the knowledge base is still lacking a comprehensive approach on how to prevent burnout from happening and how to alleviate organizations from its the negative implications.
This thesis gives insights by integrating various research findings with tangible management techniques. A theoretical model is constructed for offsetting burnout and its consequences. A list of 12 multidirectional propositions is given that managers may apply to proactively decrease burnout and its effects.
The implementation of effective individual, managerial or organizational patterns to deal proactively with burnout depends largely on manager’s clear and accurate understanding of the burnout construct, before acting on its consequences. For that reason it is inevitable for managers to comprehend the burnout phenomenon in its multidimensional and holistic whole.
Accordingly, chapter two will explicate the theoretical burnout construct to a managerial audience. A summary of the historical and empirical research activities will be given in section 2.1 in order to provide a better understanding of how the knowledge base on burnout evolved over time to its current state. Section 2.2 offers explanations for the three burnout dimensions, its construct validity, and the measurement of burnout based on Maslach’s model, who, until today, happens to be the most influential scholar in this field.
Chapter three will clarify the antecedents of burnout, identifying various individual and situational factors that have been significantly related to the different dimensions of burnout. The understanding of the psychological conceptualizations of burnout is of central importance, but it does not provide managers with clear and concrete tools to counter the appearance of the burnout phenomenon in their organizations. This has largely been neglected by most burnout researchers. Therefore, in chapter four of this thesis a theoretical model is constructed that can […]

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Inhaltsverzeichnis


Robert Frisinger
The Burnout Phenomenon
Keys for proactive burnout prevention
ISBN-10: 3-8324-9886-9
ISBN-13: 978-3-8324-9886-3
Druck Diplomica® GmbH, Hamburg, 2006
Zugl. Universiteit Maastricht, Maastricht, Niederland, Abschlussarbeit, 2006
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The Burnout Phenomenon
- 2 -
Executive Summary
Burnout is a multidimensional psychological syndrome that evolves as a reaction to
chronic stress in the workplace. It results in an irrevocable depletion of a person's ener-
gies and emotional resources with various negative consequences for individuals and
organizations. In the past 30 years researchers tried to understand the burnout construct
in its complexity and offered diverse answers to questions of why burnout appears and
how it can be measured. But despite the broad academic research on burnout, the
knowledge base is still lacking a comprehensive approach on how to prevent burnout
from happening and how to alleviate organizations from its the negative implications.
This thesis gives insights by integrating various research findings with tangible man-
agement techniques. A theoretical model is constructed for offsetting burnout and its
consequences. A list of 12 multidirectional propositions is given that managers may
apply to proactively decrease burnout and its effects.

The Burnout Phenomenon
- 3 -
Table of Contents
Chapter I: Introduction...4
Chapter II: A literature review on burnout research...8
2.1 History of burnout research...8
2.1.1 Pioneering phase...8
2.1.2 Empirical phase...9
2.2 The burnout construct...10
2.2.1 The three dimensions of burnout...10
2.2.2 How to measure burnout...12
2.2.3 A validation of the construct...14
2.2.3.1 Convergent validity...14
2.2.3.2 Discriminant validity...15
Chapter III: Antecedents of burnout...18
3.1 Individual factors...18
3.1.1 Demographic factors...18
3.1.2 Personality factors...19
3.1.3 Social support...21
3.1.4 Personal expectations...21
3.1.5 Career progress...23
3.2 Situational factors...23
3.2.1 Job characteristic...23
3.2.2 Organizational characteristics...25
3.2.3 Interpersonal relations...27
3.2.4 Two models of burnout...28
Chapter IV: Offsetting mechanisms for burnout ­ a theoretical model...31
4.1 Six work context areas...33
4.2 Implications for managers for the six work context areas...41
Chapter V: Conclusions...43
5.1 Concluding part...43
5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further research...44
References...46

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter I: Introduction
4
Chapter I: Introduction
Organizations depend on key personal. They want to ensure that employees maintain
in a state of mental and physical health to produce at the highest output level possible. It is in
the interest of each organization to maximize the use of their employees' actual and potential
abilities (van Yperen & Hagedoorn, 2003). In order to facilitate this, more than ever before,
organizations in the private and public sector realize that the phenomenon of burnout in key
employees embodies a serious threat to their organizational wellbeing.
Long before scientific researchers found an interest in burnout, in 1961 the fictional
author Graham Greene published a novel named A Burn-out Case. Its main character is an
architect who finds himself in a disillusioned and spiritually tormented state, unable to cope
with the exigencies of his job. At the end of the story he is so troubled that he quits his job
and finally flees from his problems into the African jungle. In a figurative and exaggerated
way the story describes the problems organizations face in today's increasingly complex and
dynamic environment.
According to Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter (2001), even before Greene's (1961)
novel, fictional and non-fictional authors have identified a similar syndrome characterized by
"extreme fatigue and the loss of passion for one's job" (Maslach et al, 2001, p. 398). This is
significant as it confirms that even before academics started to investigate the burnout phe-
nomenon, it had already been identified as a social, and hence also organizational problem by
various sources. In spite of the nonacademic origins of burnout research, the interest from
academics and managers alike increased dramatically over the past 30 years. In this period
the subsequent research advanced in scientific quality and was increasingly based on empiri-
cal studies und theoretical models.
Beyond the acknowledgement that burnout implies the depletion of a person's energy
and emotional resources (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993; Gaines & Jermier, 1983), most re-
searchers define burnout as a multidimensional psychological syndrome that evolves as a
reaction to chronic interpersonal stress in the workplace (Maslach et al, 2001; Dermerouti,
Verbeke, & Bakker, 2005). The most elemental contribution in this concern is the model of
Maslach (1976), who defines the nature of burnout as a three-factor model consisting of
overwhelming emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a feeling of reduced personal
accomplishment. Emotional exhaustion describes the basic dimension of individual stress and
is defined by the depletion of emotional and physical resources. Depersonalization, also
referred to as cynicism or disengagement, is characterized by a personal detachment response
from various aspects of the job and represents the interpersonal dimension of burnout. The

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter I: Introduction
5
third dimension is reduced personal accomplishment and relates to a perception of incompe-
tence and lack of achievement and productivity; it corresponds to the self-evaluation dimen-
sion of burnout (Maslach et al, 2001).
The importance of burnout as a managerial concern is emphasized by its negative
consequences for organizations as well as for individuals. The consequences of burnout have
been the focus of a vast number of research studies and cover a wide spectrum ranging from
negative organizational outcomes to personal dysfunctional behavior (Cordes & Dougherty,
1993). The large amount of research on the consequences of burnout illustrates the impor-
tance of the topic and further demonstrates the need for management to find proactive ways
of dealing with it. The miscellaneous consequences of burnout are categorized into these five
groups: physical, emotional, interpersonal, attitudinal and behavioral consequences (Kahill,
1988).
Burnout has been related to physical and also to mental health issues by various au-
thors. The physical health problems include fatigue, insomnia, headaches as well as gastroin-
testinal disturbances (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993; Kahill, 1988). The mental or emotional
sides of health problems occurring in combination with burnout are depression, a decreased
feeling of self-esteem, irritability, helplessness and anxiety (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993;
Jackson & Maslach, 1982; Kahill, 1988). Interpersonal consequences associated with burnout
display themselves in the following manner: changes in the nature or frequency of interac-
tions with clients and co-workers (Jackson & Schuler, 1983), increased negative impact of
job demands on employee's personal and family lives (Burke & Deszca, 1986) and a with-
drawing from friends combined with reduced socializing (Jackson & Maslach, 1982). Con-
cerning the attitudinal consequences of burnout Sethi, Barrier, and King (1999) confirmed
earlier studies by Jackson, Turner, and Brief (1987), Leiter (1991), and Thomas and Williams
(1995), who proved that people with elevated burnout levels show lower levels of organiza-
tional commitment. The behavioral consequences linked with burnout that find support in
research are increased intentions to leave the job and higher levels of drug, alcohol and to-
bacco abuse (Burke & Deszca, 1986; Jackson & Maslach, 1982). Additionally, absenteeism
has been associated with high burnout levels by Firth and Britton (1989). Interestingly, it was
found that the intention to leave the job is significantly related to all three burnout dimensions
but actual turnover levels are only positively related to exhaustion (Firth & Britton, 1989;
Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986; Pines, Aronson, & Kafry, 1981).
Nearly all of these consequences can potentially have negative impacts on organiza-
tional outcomes and therefore represent a latent risk for the organizational functioning.

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter I: Introduction
6
Whether e.g. the work atmosphere, communication flows, absenteeism rates or the quality of
direct client contact is concerned, managers should strive to avoid the negative consequences
of burnout in order to assure a productive work environment. Finding tools or mechanisms
that assist managers on how to prevent burnout and diminish its negative implications has
largely been neglected by researchers until today. According to Halbesleben and Buckley
(2004, p.870), "burnout can be reduced, but there is a need to develop appropriate (and novel)
programs for its reduction". Hence, finding propositions on how to counteract negative impli-
cations of burnout or even to proactively prevent burnout before it arises is the main contribu-
tion of this thesis. This aim is condensed into the following problem statement:
What is the relation of management techniques and organizational settings towards the ap-
pearance of burnout and how can managers reduce burnout in their organizations?
The implementation of effective individual, managerial or organizational patterns to
deal proactively with burnout depends largely on manager's clear and accurate understanding
of the burnout construct, before acting on its consequences. For that reason it is inevitable for
managers to comprehend the burnout phenomenon in its multidimensional and holistic whole.
Accordingly, the following chapter two will explicate the theoretical burnout construct to a
managerial audience. A summary of the historical and empirical research activities will be
given in section 2.1 in order to provide a better understanding of how the knowledge base on
burnout evolved over time to its current state. Section 2.2 offers explanations for the three
burnout dimensions, its construct validity, and the measurement of burnout based on
Maslach's (1976) model, who, until today, happens to be the most influential scholar in this
field. Chapter three will clarify the antecedents of burnout, identifying various individual and
situational factors that have been significantly related to the different dimensions of burnout.
The understanding of the psychological conceptualizations of burnout is of central impor-
tance, but it does not provide managers with clear and concrete tools to counter the appear-
ance of the burnout phenomenon in their organizations. This has largely been neglected by
most burnout researchers. Therefore, in chapter four of this thesis a theoretical model is
constructed that can assist managers in their attempt to proactively decrease burnout appear-
ance and its effects. Fundamental to this model is the psychological conclusion of Maslach et
al (2001) who defines six work areas (workload, fairness, community, control, rewards,
values) that place the person within the work context and aim at providing a better lever for
burnout prevention. These findings of Maslach et al, Schaufeli, Maslach, and Marek (1993a,

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter I: Introduction
7
1993b) and other various authors who added to today's knowledge base will be integrated
with the current state of management theories to build up the model. Following the conceptu-
alization of the model, twelve propositions will be presented that assist managers in their
formulation of a burnout prevention strategy.
A concluding part answering the central problem statement and limitations of the pro-
posed model with suggestions for further research are presented in the fifth and last chapter
of this thesis.

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter II: A literature review on burnout
8
Chapter II: A literature review on burnout research
2.1 History of burnout research
2.1.1 The pioneering phase
The initial scientific interest for burnout was generated in the United States during the
1970s. It resulted from a series of studies investigating emotion and arousal in the workplace,
as well as coping mechanisms that people developed as responses to these feelings (Cordes &
Dougherty, 1993). The primary contribution of these early works was the description of the
phenomenon, giving it its name, and proving evidence that it appeared on a regular basis
(Freudenberger, 1975; Maslach, 1976). The earliest contribution goes back to Freudenberger
(1975), a psychiatrist working for an alternative health agency. He provided the first direct
prove for processes like emotional depletion, loss of motivation, and loss of commitment.
Although much of Freudenberg's work was based on his own personal experiences (Freuden-
berg, 1974, 1977a, 1977b) and therefore limited in scientific methodology, his contribution
first gave insights into the almost non-existing knowledge base about burnout. Freudenberger
was the first to use the term "burnout" for the described processes, a notion originally used to
explain a state associated with the effects of chronic drug abuse (Maslach et al, 2001).
Digging deeper into the conceptual constitution of the burnout phenomenon, Maslach
(1976), a social psychologist, interviewed a wide range of workers in the human service
sector about their perception of emotional stress and their job. Due to the interpersonally
challenging nature of their tasks, Maslach chose people from the human service sector as they
were suspected to most likely reveal experiences of the burnout phenomenon (Cordes &
Dougherty, 1993). The author discovered that people exercise certain coping strategies in
order to deal with elevated emotional stress levels and that these strategies have significant
implications for professional identity and job behavior.
This path of investigation was in line with a similar phenomenon found in people
working in legal services (Maslach & Jackson, 1984). It was shown that lawyers who worked
with financially troubled people and thus in interpersonally highly challenging situations,
showed a similar set of phenomena as the workers in the human service sector in Maslach's
(1976) earlier research. These parallel findings brought forth the argumentation that the emo-
tional strain of health care professionals was not unique to just one profession. The logical
conclusion was that unmistakably something unique existed in connection with "people
work" that could result in burnout (Cordes & Dougherty, 1993).

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter II: A literature review on burnout
9
2.1.2 The empirical phase
After Freudenberg's (1975) and Maslach's (1976) first contributions to the scientific
forum, the burnout phenomenon increasingly attracted the attention of researchers. As a
result, the scientific quality of the burnout research improved by shifting to more systematical
and empirical approaches. The methodologies used were increasingly based on quantitative
data generated in surveys with large sample sizes and longitudinal studies. In addition, schol-
ars from a wide range of disciplines attended to burnout from alternating perspectives. Com-
pared to Freudenberg's first conceptualizations based on his own personal experiences, the
empirical approaches to burnout research constituted an imperative advancement and led to a
deeper understanding of the phenomenon.
In the 1980s, the main research focus was on finding a dependable measurement and
assessment for burnout in people. Various constructs were developed but what happens to be
the "gold standard" in the assessment of burnout was the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)
brought forth by Maslach and Jackson in 1981. The MBI is a three-factor model dividing
burnout into the subcategories of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal
accomplishment. Building on Maslach's (1976) prior research, the MBI was originally de-
signed for the application in human service occupations and therefore named MBI ­ Human
Service Survey (MBI-HSS). As the interest on burnout increased, Maslach and Jackson
(1984) adapted the MBI to investigate burnout in educational occupations, creating the MBI ­
Educators Survey (MBI-ES). As the next logical step, Maslach and Jackson (1986) general-
ized the MBI and developed a burnout measurement that was applicable for occupations
without any significant human service component, the MBI ­ General Service Survey (MBI-
GSS). This advancement of the MBI reflects the unfolding of new ways of thinking about
burnout. The concept of burnout was no longer solely seen in isolation with occupations in
the human service industry, but was expanded to include non-human service jobs (Halbesle-
ben & Demerouti, 2005).
At the beginning of the 1990s, the first European Conference on Professional Burnout
was held in Krakow, Poland. This conference was of great importance for research on burn-
out as it not only provided a thorough synopsis of the apparent literature on burnout at that
time (Schaufeli, Maslach, & Marek 1993a), but also suggested a comprehensive structure for
further research into the concept of burnout (Schaufeli, Maslach, & Marek 1993b).
From thereon the empirical phase continued to become multidirectional, deepening
the understanding of the concept. Besides researchers' further extension of burnout theory to

The Burnout Phenomenon Chapter II: A literature review on burnout
10
other occupations than the human service and educational sector, the methodology of how
research in burnout was done improved significantly. Solid data sets were constructed with
improved statistical tools in order to investigate the applicability of structural models. Most
of these models tried to establish a relation between certain variables and the three burnout
dimensions of Maslach (1976). Additionally, some longitudinal studies were developed to
examine a person's feeling towards a certain work environment configuration at different
points in time. These studies not only increased the understanding of the dynamics and de-
velopment of the burnout phenomenon, but also considered the impact of preliminary inter-
ventions strategies to alleviate burnout (Maslach et al, 2001).
2.2 The construct of burnout
2.2.1 The three dimensions of burnout
The first dimension of burnout, as defined by Maslach (1976), is emotional exhaus-
tion and clearly constitutes the most central aspect of burnout (Maslach et al, 2001). Emo-
tional exhaustion is characterized by the depletion of one's emotional and physical resources.
When individuals experience exhaustion, "they typically feel as though they lack the adaptive
resources and cannot give more to their job" (Halbesleben & Buckley, 2004, p. 859). They
find themselves in a situation in which the resources they once had are irrevocably depleted,
leaving them without energy to perform their job at a certain standard. Physiologically this
dimension of burnout is to some extent comparable to fatigue, defined as the inability to keep
on working at a prescribed work rate (Gandavia, Enoka, & McComas, 1995; Hagberg, 1981;
Hawley & Reilly, 1997) combined with the perception of an ever increasing workload (Enoka
& Stuart, 1992). When people believe to suffer from burnout they most often refer to the
exhaustion component as the most obvious effect (Maslach et al, 2001). Still, although ex-
haustion is one criterion for burnout, according to Maslach et al (2001), it is not sufficient for
proving the presence of the burnout syndrome.
Depersonalization (also described as cynicism or disengagement) constitutes the sec-
ond dimension of burnout. It describes a behavior that people develop in reaction to the a-
forementioned exhaustion in the work place. Especially in human services, depersonalization
is generally understood as a coping mechanism, in which people create a situation where the
demands of work become impersonal objects and thus are perceived to be more manageable
(Maslach et al, 2001). This situation is created by a mental detachment from the job and the
development of a callous or uncaring attitude towards work, performance, and other job-

Details

Seiten
Erscheinungsform
Originalausgabe
Jahr
2006
ISBN (eBook)
9783832498863
ISBN (Paperback)
9783838698861
DOI
10.3239/9783832498863
Dateigröße
1.2 MB
Sprache
Englisch
Institution / Hochschule
Universiteit Maastricht – Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Studiengang International Business
Erscheinungsdatum
2006 (Oktober)
Note
2,0
Schlagworte
burnout stress prävention gesundheitsförderung gesundheitsmanagement
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