Job Burnout

When I first started working in the developmental disability field, I noticed an older co-worker who always seemed to be unhappy. She never smiled, always complained and kept to herself. As a young woman in my 20's, I felt, if she was so unhappy, why not just leave and find a new job. Well, fast forward to 15 years later, and I became that woman! Luckily, I was able to figure out what was going on early enough to prevent further burnout!

People who work in helping professions are affected by job burnout in large numbers. Many of the reasons cited include:

• the profession is involved in an environment that is client-centered
• Good intentions are met with low pay, impossible workload, low prestige and feeling unappreciated.
• lack of criteria for measuring accomplishments and success
• inadequate funding and institutional support
• Conflict among co-workers is often encouraged instead of working as a team

Job burnout however does not affect everyone working in the field. A person who lacks ambition is not likely to burnout. It is usually the type A personality, who is goal-oriented. dedicated and committed to a cause. More than likely, the person that burnouts out:

•  set extremely high goals for themselves and punish themselves severely if they fail to achieve their goals.
• a person more emotional than others which interferes with adaptive functioning.
• will often have inadequate coping skills and will act impulsively, lacks perseverance and relies heavily on defense mechanism such as denial, repression and projection.

Here are ways to reduce job burnout and stress:

• Meditation
• Exercise on a regular basis
• Delegate if possible
• Visualize and recite positive affirmations.