Employee Burnout:

Why is it bad and how can we fix it?

LAURA CASEY

EDPY6930-SPRING 2015

What is employee burnout?

www.xpats.com

http://www.whydev.org/burnout-and-its-causes/

Burnout: It’s not just stress This is a shortened list of negative consequences associated with burnout found in the literature:

• Recurrent illness: headaches, increased susceptibility to disease• Poor attendance• Low self-esteem• Substance abuse• Depression• Countertransference towards clients• Relationship problems (at work and home)• Job loss and frequent job overturn for companies• Drug and alcohol overdose• Suicide

What Causes Burnout? Factors associated with burnout found in the literature include:• Lack of social support• Poor job training• Fewer years of work experience• Rigidity in work schedule• Role confusion• Limited employee autonomy• Lack of professional resources• Overloaded caseloads • Poorly structured caseloads

What is the cost?

The cost is STEEP Cost to employer:• Loss of employees=higher costs for hire and training• Potential loss of clients

Cost to employee:• Loss of job• Lowered self-esteem• Mental health consequences• Relationship and family strains• Stress and disease

Cost to client:• Lowered standard of care• Employee absences could lead to more errors

and gaps in client care• Loss of trust• Frustration (specifically important when

working with mentally ill populations)

Cost to community:• Loss of social workers…less help…less success

in rehabilitation and assistance• Truancy• Client failed probation• Increased client jail time• Weaker family units

Burnout is bad. Now what? Preventative measures found in the literature and well as intervention plans include:• Flexible work schedules• Increasing social support• Cognitive-behavioral stress management• Comprehensive job training• Workshops• Peer-Collaboration activities• Use of Employee Assistance Programs

Goals• Increase awareness of employee burnout• Increase employee knowledge of intervention and prevention

resources• Provide opportunities for social workers to learn and practice skills

Solution Four components:

1. Semi-annual Workshops2. Quarterly Peer Collaboration Activity Sessions3. Local Burnout Assistance Representatives4. On-site and Virtual Aid Stations

Semi-annual Workshops1. Led by volunteers and organization administration

2. Exercises such as role playing, group discussion, emotion guessing, presentation of coping skills, stress management skills, and education on the stages of burnout and preventative measures

3. Employee resources and benefits explained

4. *Rational-Emotive Education:1. Situation reframing exercises2. Role playing from negative emotional response/positive emotional response

*Russell (1987)

Quarterly Activity Sessions Cooley and Yovanoff (1996)

*handout

Local Burnout Assistance Representatives

Volunteer basis

Duties include:◦ Organizing workshops and activity sessions◦ Maintaining on-site and virtual aid stations◦ Providing assistance and resource referral to employees◦ Communicating between employees, supervisors and company administrators◦ Weekly announcements

On-site and Virtual Aid Stations

The aid station as a living structure◦ Weekly announcements◦ Weekly maintenance ◦ Presence of representative both on-site and online

◦ Do NOT want a disorganized website and table with no access to representatives or resources

Virtual Aid Station Example:

http://burnouthelpnow.weebly.com/

Outcomes If the solution plan is successful then:

•Decreased employee burnout

•Lowered costs to companies

• Increased work productivity

•Increased employee job satisfaction

•Decreased employee turnover

•Higher levels of client care and satisfaction

•Stronger families

•Stronger communities

Goals Reminder!1. Increase awareness2. Increase knowledge of skills and

prevention measures3. Provide opportunities to learn and

practice

Thank you!

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Russell, T.T., (1987). THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A RATIONAL-EMOTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF TEACHER BURNOUT (Order No. 8712992). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Full Text. (303592504). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/303592504?accountid=28833

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Yu, M. C., Lin, C. C., & Hsu, S. Y. (2009). Stressors and burnout: The role of employee assistance programs and self-efficacy. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 37(3), 365-377.