Resources on the topic of burnout

Summary

A collection of three academic papers that provide background and analysis to the experience of career burnout and the tools and techniques for mitigating the risk.

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

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.

Coping resources as mediators of multidimensional perfectionism and burnout

This study examined the relationship between 2 dimensions of perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns) and burnout and the role that coping resources may play in mediating the relationship between these variables. Participants for this study included 235 employees from a large consulting firm in the Netherlands.

The hypothesis that perfectionistic strivings would be negatively related to burnout was supported. This finding suggests that perfectionistic strivings may shield an individual from certain forms of psychological distress and be accompanied by lower burnout. The hypothesis that perfectionistic concerns would be positively related to burnout was also supported. This finding suggests that perfectionistic concerns are related to negative psychological and work consequences that may contribute to higher levels of burnout.
Also as hypothesized, coping resources (cognitive restructuring and functional beliefs) mediated the relationships between both dimensions of perfectionism and burnout

Job Demands–Resources Theory: Taking Stock and Looking Forward

The job demands/resources (JD-R) model was introduced in the international literature 15 years ago (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001). The model has been applied in thousands of organizations and has inspired hundreds of empirical articles, including 1 of the most downloaded articles of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology (Bakker, Demerouti, & Euwema, 2005). This article provides evidence for the buffering role of various job resources on the impact of various job demands on burnout. In the present article, we look back on the first 10 years of the JD-R model (2001–2010), and discuss how the model matured into JD-R theory (2011–2016). Moreover, we look at the future of the theory and outline which new issues in JD-R theory are worthwhile of investigation. We also discuss practical applications. It is our hope that JD-R theory will continue to inspire researchers and practitioners who want to promote employee well-being and effective organizational functioning.

25th August 2021: Workshop – Wellbeing … What influences burnout in Major Projects?