Occupational Burnout
Burnout is a relatively new concept (coined with its contemporary intent in 1975), although interest in this topic has significantly increased over the last 40 years. Most who have studied burnout agree that it is a multifaceted construct, including (but
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Occupational Burnout Cindy A. McGeary and Donald D. McGeary
Introduction Burnout is a relatively new concept (coined with its contemporary intent in 1975), although interest in this topic has significantly increased over the last 40 years. Most who have studied burnout agree that it is a multifaceted construct, including (but not limited to) domains like work-supportive energy (i.e., exhaustion and fatigue), perception of work meaningfulness, work-directed concentration and focus, and extent of work engagement. Although definitions vary, the most widely accepted model of burnout has been developed by Dr. Christina Maslach, Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Berkley, who conceptualized it as a tripartite construct comprised of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment. Although many agree with the validity of the Maslach model, there has been some debate on the relative value of its components. Exhaustion has received the greatest attention throughout the burnout research literature, with some suggesting that it is a primary or singularly necessary criterion for burnout (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001; Shirom, 1989; cf. Pines & Aronson, 1988). Maslach and colleagues argue that one factor is not enough to fully define the complex process of occupational burnout. They note, “…the fact that exhaustion is a necessary criterion for burnout does not mean it is sufficient. If one were to look at burnout out of context, and simply focus on the individual exhaustion component, one would lose sight of the phenomenon entirely” (p. 403). Occupational burnout can be a significant concern for workers and employers alike. There are reasonable data to suggest that employees experiencing burnout exhibit significant decrements in the
C.A. McGeary, Ph.D. Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Arlington, 501 S. Nedderman Dr., Box 19528, Arlington, TX 76019, USA e-mail: [email protected] D.D. McGeary, Ph.D., A.B.P.P. (*) Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA e-mail: [email protected] R.J. Gatchel and I.Z. Schultz (eds.), Handbook of Occupational Health and Wellness, Handbooks in Health, Work, and Disability, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-4839-6_9, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2012
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quality and quantity of their work output (Firth & Britton, 1989), increased rates of absenteeism and thoughts of leaving their jobs (Chambers, 1993), degraded indices of physical health and immune functioning (Armon, Melamed, Shirom, & Shapira, 2010; Mommersteeg, Heijnen, Kavelaars, & van Doornen, 2006; Shirom et al., 2006), decreased career satisfaction and quality of life (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2000; Evans et al., 2006; Sprang, Clark, & Whitt-Woosley, 2007), and even changes in risk
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