Abstract
Statement of Problem
The phenomenon of burnout has been recognized as a problem for social workers and other human services personnel. A syndrome that affects the emotional, psychological, and physical well-being of individuals as a result of chronic stress associated with dealing extensively with other human beings who are troubled or having problems, burnout often results in a worker's loss of concern for clients, lowered worker morale, and the desire to leave one's job. Thus, burnout may have a negative effect on workers, clients, and the delivery of services. An exploration of burnout at Sacramento Mental Health Center seemed especially urgent in view of continuing expressions of concern and relatively high staff turnover.
Sources of Data
To illuminate the extent to which burnout may be associated with job satisfaction or dissatisfaction among multidisciplinary staff at Sacramento Mental Health Center, an exploratory study was designed. A 51-item questionnaire was developed and administered to 48 mental health staff in a range of job classifications and different human service disciplines. The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used as an instrument to assess worker burnout. Frequency distributions were obtained for responses to all questionnaire items. The results were aggregated and presented in tabular format.
Conclusions Reached
The results of the study indicate the tendency toward burnout is lower than anticipated among the sample. Aggregate scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory for the study were lower than the norms for each subscale and dimension except the intensity dimension for depersonalization. Factors that might account for the low tendency toward burnout are age and maturity, high experience, short duration in current employment, and the cyclic nature of the burnout syndrome. Relationships between co-workers were indicated as trusting and open, thus possibly acting to buffer stressors that contribute to burnout. Although high stress seems to be an inherent characteristic in working with both acute and chronic patient populations, the nature of stressors that contribute to burnout in this study tend to be related to each worker's job classification.