Causes and Prevention of Burnout in Human Services Staff

Causes and Prevention of Burnout in Human Services Staff

Melissa Hallman

BSHS/462

May 16, 2013

Karen Korotzer

Causes and Prevention of Burnout in Human Services Staff

High-stress jobs such as those in the human service field can cause serious issues such as burnout. Burnout can show up in a multitude of ways for employees. For organizations this can cause a large number of sick days or they may experience a high turnover rate. Human service workers enter the workforce full of hopes of making changes for those people who they want to work. Like every other job there is always a high hope of helping others and optimism that change will happen but because of the significant amount of work stress occurs which often leads to burnout.

Definition

“Burnout is a state of exhaustion, whether it is physical, mental, or emotional that an individual experiences when under extreme stress” (Lewis, Packard, & Lewis, 2007). “Burnout can be identified by three major features: emotional exhaustion, feelings of decreased successful outcomes with clients, and increased feelings of being de-sensitized to the needs of clients” (Lewis, Packard, & Lewis, 2007). Those who suffer from burnout may show emotional, behavioral, or physical symptoms. Emotional symptoms maybe helplessness, decreased satisfaction, feeling of failure or feeling drained, and may also have more absences due to illness. Behavioral symptoms may include withdrawal, procrastinations, anger, frustration, or the need for isolation. Physical symptoms can be fatigue, changes in weight, and increase of physical complaints.

Individual, job role, and organization methods that causes burnout

One of the issues that may cause burnout for individuals in the workplace could be the lack of feeling control. This could include the inability to affect decisions in your job which could include his or her workload, assignments, and schedules. There could also be the lack of needed resources. A second...