Self-Compassion Explains Less Burnout Among Healthcare Professionals
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Self-Compassion Explains Less Burnout Among Healthcare Professionals Zeena Hashem 1 & Pia Zeinoun 1,2
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Objectives Healthcare professionals are prone to experience burnout—a psychological syndrome resulting from chronic stressors at work. Some individual differences, like self-compassion—the non-judgmental observation of one’s own pain and failure, while understanding that these are part of being human—can protect against burnout. Methods We administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Stressful Life Events Scale to a sample of healthcare professionals (medical residents, nurses, and physicians) in Lebanon (N = 93). Results The sample demonstrated a high degree of Emotional Exhaustion (M = 27, SD = 11.79), average levels of Depersonalization (M = 9.46, SD = 6.35), and Personal Accomplishment (M = 34.95, SD = 6.58), and moderate levels of Selfcompassion (M = 3.25). All burnout components were significantly and inversely associated with self-compassion, with the strongest association found between Emotional Exhaustion and Self-compassion (r = −.37, p < .001). Self-compassion significantly explained burnout, above and beyond sociodemographic and occupational variables (Emotional Exhaustion: ΔR2 = .11, F (1.85) = 12.71, p < .01; Depersonalization: ΔR2 = .07, F (1.85) = 6.73, p = .01; Low Personal Accomplishment: ΔR2 = .11, F (1.85) = 11.29, p < .01). Conclusions Burnout is prevalent in the sample, yet self-compassion may be a possible protective factor. Keywords Burnout . Self-compassion . Healthcare professionals . Workplace health
Healthcare professionals, such as primary care physicians, nurses, and psychotherapists, share a common ethos of treating and helping people through close interactions with them. While this might be rewarding and satisfying (Bria et al. 2012; Stamm 2010), these healthcare professionals are also prone to experiencing burnout, which can lead to harmful consequences for the healthcare provider, the service recipient, and the healthcare organization. Understanding individual variables that may protect against burnout can inform preventive efforts and interventions. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01469-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Pia Zeinoun [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
2
Department of Psychiatry, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
While burnout is a broad construct that has been defined in different ways, the most widely used definition, and the one recently adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), is that of Maslach et al. (2018) who define it as a syndrome that is characterized by three essential feelings of (1) Emotional Exhaustion, (2) Depersonalization, and (3) Low Personal Accomplishment. While these descriptors slightly change depending on the population t
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