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This blame game is often unhelpful. Not just for the
employees in question, but also because it risks a skills
shortage in certain professions such as health and
social care. Plus, it further contributes to the burnout
cycle: with limited staff and resources, demands are
placed on fewer employees. different people experience stress. This runs the risk of
organisations screening out applicants for jobs on the
basis of personality or attributing blame to employees,
rather than taking responsibility as an organisation to
make adequate changes to safeguard their employees
from stress.
Causes Many global organisations have intervention plans
that place the onus on the employee to manage their
health and well-being through training programmes
such as building resilience and coping skills. But this
often has the semblance of blaming employees, while
abdicating responsibility and not making any real
changes to policies. The r eality is that organisations
are stressful, often purporting an employee wellness
agenda that isn’t really implemented in practice.
Research into burnout has been linked to office
politics, menial working tasks that interfere with work
duties and high job demands that lead to exhaustion.
Rising workloads and long hours are the main culprits;
however, some employees are better able to cope or
are more adaptable than others.
Perception of stress is also a contributing factor. If you
perceive you do not have the right resources to cope
with your workload, or perceive it to be more than you
can cope with, you are much more likely to succumb to
stress-related disorders.
Individual differences and personality types also play
a role in the risk of burnout. Type A personalities, for
example – who have a mix of behavioural traits that
include hardiness, impatience, competitiveness and
drive – and people who like to have large amounts
of control, are also linked to higher rates of stress
at work. Research shows that employees with these
personalities tend to be more restless, hostile and
time-conscious, which puts them at greater risk of
workplace stress.
It is important, however, not to make banal
assumptions when it comes to understanding how
GOVLINK » ISSUE 2 2017
Different dimensions
There are three main dimensions of burnout according
to the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the most commonly
used burnout scale: exhaustion, cynicism and a sense
of personal accomplishment, with exhaustion being
the most obviously displayed. Signs of burnout can
vary between employees and manifest in multiple
industries, from healthcare and education settings to
legal and corporate finance firms.
Burnout causes a range of psychological and physical
problems and can affect people long after they no
longer face the stressful situation. These include
fatigue, irritability, depression, withdrawal, mental and
physical health problems, and self-medication with
alcohol and drug use. Consequently, it is something that
employees and organisations must manage carefully.