Defining Stress and Burnout

The relationship amongst Individuals and the organizations can be studied through the methods of Interaction between personnel and groups, as well as the strategies and factors affecting the behavior between each. For the purpose of this literature review, stress and Job burnout will be used to depict a major behavior of the relationship between the organization and its personnel (Ghana 2004). For example, Job burnout and its characteristics can have substantial effects on the organization and its personnel, which is why many researchers in recent decades have chosen to Investigate the phenomenon further.The term Job burnout' came Into play In the United States during the sass when It was identified more as a social problem, rather than a focus of systematic study by researchers (Mismatch 2001). However, the power of the term ‘burnout' made it possible to delve deeper into an Individual's experiences in the workplace and capture their realities, no matter what profession was u nder scrutiny. According to the Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, the phenomenon of Job burnout happens In different Jobs at various levels with major side effects to the organization, TTS personnel and their families (Freakish 2009).Due to the detrimental effects to job performance brought about by the phenomenon in question, defining job burnout, finding the indicators of where it occurs and discovering the preventative measures will be the focus of this paper. Defining Stress and Job Burnout Stress and job burnout have been considered occupational hazards for many people-oriented professions such as healthcare, human services and education. The practitioners In these professions began their Job with enthusiasm, positive expectations and a strong dedication to helping people.The demands of such Jobs are usually understated, but the norms are the same: to work long hours to do what you must to help the client, to put others' needs first and to ultimately be selfless . However these demands often come at a high price when one experiences the beginning stages of Job burnout. Brandenburg, Pines, Aaron's and Kathy define Job burnout as a syndrome consisting of emotional and physical tiredness caused by development of negative occupational tendencies, and missing one's Interest In one's own job (Brandenburg 1975).The key characteristics can be seen through feelings f frustration, exhaustion, anger and cynicism as well as a sense of failure and ineffectiveness. In addition, personnel and even management may suffer from sleep disorders, frequent headaches and anorexia (Freakish 2009). These experiences affect both social and personal functions of their Job performance. Naturally, this not only affects the Individual worker, but the people depending on him or her, and of course, the organization as a whole (Mismatch 1998).When organizational performance is effected negatively, this results in less work, absence from the job, arioso complaints, conflict in work environment, frequent delays, change of position and Job and even the quitting of the job. Ultimately, any manager who has suffered from Job burnout for whatever reason puts his psychological health at serious risk which could hinder the ability to communicate with others and solve personal oppositions Ana tendencies In an accepted, logical manner (Frankness 2 Mismatch and Letter, two of the leading scholars in the analysis and study of Job burnout, have done over 25 years of research on the subject.These experts claim that although there is no standard definition to Job burnout, they agree there are here prevailing dimensions which maintain a consistent structure throughout a variety of professions ( Mismatch 2001). These three components are: exhaustion, cynicism (a distant attitude toward the Job), and reduced professional efficacy. Of these three components, exhaustion is the most meticulously studied due to its predominance in the workplace. Some even argue that becaus e of this strong identification with burnout, the other two aspects of the syndrome are unnecessary to consider.Exhaustion reflects the stress dimension of burnout, yet it fails to encompass the relationship people have with their work. Mismatch and Letter say that exhaustion is not Just experienced – it instigates the motion to disconnect oneself cognitively and emotionally from one's work. This act has a specific name: diversification. This is an attempt to distance oneself and the ones receiving services (perhaps the client) by actively ignoring the qualities that make them engaging, unique people.People use this distancing method to develop an indifferent or a cynical attitude, so that they can manage the demands of their Job without having to view their counterparts as real people but as impersonal objects (Freakish 2009). Distancing is such an expected reaction to exhaustion that the strong correlation to cynicism (diversification) is always found when studying burnout (Mismatch 1996). The third component, lack of professional efficacy (reduced personal accomplishment) can be seen in a work situation with constant, overwhelming Job duties that add to the exhaustion or cynicism.This is because it is difficult to have a feeling of accomplishment when one feels exhausted or indifferent toward the people they are supposed to help. The main difference between the three components is that a lack of efficacy stems from the lack of elevate resources, whereas exhaustion and cynicism arise from social conflict and work overload (Mismatch 1998). Where Does Burnout Happen? According to the Annual Review of Psychology Journal, burnout is an individual experience that is specific to the work context.Therefore, the situational factors of Job burnout must be examined in order to fully understand the reasons behind its presence in many of our major industries. As mentioned above, research indicates that burnout is a response to work overload, time pressures and ot her quantitative job demands (such as too much work for available time). Studies of qualitative demands include role ambiguity and role conflict. Role conflict occurs as the conflicting demands of the Job must be met, whereas role ambiguity happens when there is not enough information given to do the Job well (Mismatch 1997).Another situational factor which is highly consistent with burnout rates is a lack of Job resources such as a lack of social support from management and fellow employees. Another set of Job resources has to do with control and information. If there is a lack of feedback from supervisors and no opportunity for decision making between management and employees, then the chances for burnout are much higher (Pulitzer and Mashers 2003). Based on the situational factors as seen in the quantitative and qualitative Job demands, it is easier to see where (I. . What Job Inaugurates) Joy Turnout occurs ten most. When telling Turnout earlier In tons paper, it was stated that in the professions of healthcare, education and human services, Job burnout has been prevalent due to the orientation toward emotion and people. Mismatch and Letter said there are actually five occupational sectors where the three emissions of burnout can be seen: teaching, social services, medicine, mental health and law enforcement.For example, in a study conducted by Stress and Health, it was found that physicians in South Africa have high levels of stress due to lack of organizational support, inadequate salaries, making critical on-the-spot decisions, dealing with crisis situations and working overtime. Apart from the inadequate salaries, American physicians were found to have similar sources of Job stress, especially female doctors due to a lack of support on Job stress severity (Pulitzer and Mashers 2003).Mismatch and Letter said there are mainly five occupational sectors which are prone to burnout; however, it would not be logical to limit the study to Just those five indus tries as it seems logical any individual in any Job could become victim to Job burnout, depending on their age, demands of the Job and the length of time worked. Thus, this brings up the issue of who experiences burnout? Who Experiences Burnout? There are three personal factors which have been found to be related to Job stress and burnout: demographics, personality characteristics and Job attitudes.Of all demographic factors, age is most consistently related to burnout (Mismatch 1996). Among younger employees, the level of burnout is reported to be higher than those over 30-40 years of age. Researchers suggest this is because age is confounded with work experience so burnout could occur earlier in one's career. Also sex is an indicator of burnout. Some studies show there is a higher burnout for women because they fall under the dimension of exhaustion, whereas other studies say men are more likely to have higher levels of burnout because they score higher on Hyannis.Some studies say those with a higher level of education report higher levels of burnout perhaps because highly educated people have higher expectations for their Jobs, and thus, are more stressed if these expectations are not met ( Mismatch 1996). Many personality traits have been analyzed in an effort to find which types of people may be at a greater risk for burnout. It has been suggested that low levels of hardiness (sense of control over events, openness to change, etc. , poor self-esteem, an external focus of control (give credit to others) and n avoidance coping style (passive to stressful events) all correlate to high levels of Job burnout. The exhaustion dimension of burnout has been linked to Type-A behavior (hostility, competition, excessive need for control). There has also been connections between individuals who are â€Å"feeling† types rather than â€Å"thinking† types who are more prone to burnout, especially on the dimension of cynicism (Freakish 2009). And lastly, the expectations and attitudes people bring to their Jobs is connected to levels of Job stress and burnout.According to Applied &Preventative Psychology Journal, those with high Job expectations are more likely to work too hard and do too much, which leads to exhaustion and eventually cynicism when the extended effort does not yield the expected results (Mismatch 1998). Prevention of Stress and Job Burnout In Mismatch and Goldberg article â€Å"Prevention of burnout: New perspectives,† they suggest two new approaches to ten prevention AT JODI Turnout. I en TLS approach Is based on the Mismatch multidimensional model and focuses on the opposite of burnout: increasing engagement with work by creating a better ‘fit' between the individual and the Job.The model provides a way to analyze more accurate connections between the Job situation and the personal experience. The advantage to this approach is that it allows for clarity and articulation of the source of the burnout which would aid in designing more effective prevention techniques. The second approach is based on decision-making and redefines burnout in relation to perception of the risk of burnout and how it may lead to choices that actually increase the likelihood of becoming â€Å"burnt† (Mismatch 1996). Both of these approaches can be simply put into two categories: person-centered approaches and taxation-centered approaches.With the person-centered approach, it is suggested that the individual plays a central role in the prevention of burnout. It is often presumed that it is the responsibility of the person, not the organization, to do something about their stress management. In order to do succeed with this approach, the individual must be able to develop preventative coping skills, utilize social resources, develop a relaxed lifestyle, improve health, and at the end of it, self- analyze in an objective, realistic manner that allows them to reevaluate their own arsenal standards and unc onscious expectations (Mismatch 1998).The situation- centered approaches have been given very little attention for strategies to preventing stress and burnout. However, at the situational level, the few strategies that have been suggested tend to focus on ways of enhancing the Job experience. According to â€Å"Then Handbook of Organizational Communication†, one of those ways to enhance job experience is through social support networks. A social support network focuses on the ways in which communication networks help organizational members cope tit stress. They do this by offering the members social support in the form of resources and sociability.Researchers have determined four main components of a social support network: emotional aid, material aid (goods, money and services), information and companionship Cabling and Putnam 2001). There is a significant amount of research which states that the role of networks in providing social support in varying organizational contexts , such as families, communities and neighborhoods, is highly correlated with lowered levels of stress Cabling and Putnam 2001). Conclusion Investigations by researchers and scholars for the past 25 years have shown that there are many sources and indicators causing stress and Job burnout.Many researchers such as Mismatch have devoted their lives to developing interactive models for Justifying and preventing this phenomenon. Many of these methods and strategies have been proposed by people with some type of direct, personal experience with burnout in their particular profession. This is because Job burnout can be seen in almost any industry, especially when it is broken down into its three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism (diversification) and lack of personal accomplishment. In this literature review, there are sections outlining what Job burnout is, where it occurs, who it happens to and how it can be prevented.