Causes and Prevention of Burnout in Human Services Staff

Burnout is a condition that can affect people in different ways and in all career choices. Burnout is also a condition that is brought on by stressors that have built up in an individual’s professional and personal life. Burnout can cause employees to become disillusioned and develop a non-caring attitude about work-related and personal issues. This paper will explore the definition of burnout, factors that cause burnout and methods to prevent burnout. The writer will also examine his own personality and share how to react and respond to personal and work-related stress. Lastly, the writer will discuss how a human service manager will be alert and assist staff with burnout. Burnout Helpguide (2010) describes burnout as a state emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, which occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. In a situation where an employee used to display extreme high energy towards a job along with motivation and commitment, burnout causes them to lose interest, feel useless, and incompetent. This condition is found in individuals who work in high-stress workplace environments. Lewis, Lewis and Packard (2007) describe three major factors of burnout as emotional exhaustion, a feeling of low personal accomplishment with clients, and a sense of depersonalization. When this occurs human service workers have a dehumanizing, uncaring attitude toward clients (Lewis, Lewis and Packard 2007). When the human services worker’s attitude toward the client is affected, then his productivity within the organization is affected also. Burnout ffects the workers as well as well as the organization. An organization suffers from burnout by having high turnover rates, employees calling in sick and low productivity. If an employee quits a job due to burnout, the organization has to then shovel out more time and funds to train new employees. This behavior can then cause burnout or anxiety among the other employees because their workload has increased due an employee quitting and training of a new employee. An organization’s awareness of burnout can elimination the problems that are caused by burnout. Causes of Burnout Lewis, Lewis and Packard (2007) wrote that it wasn’t until 1974 when Herber Freudenberger posited the concept of burnout as an occupational disease. The author also believes that possible causes of burnout happen at the individual, organizational, and cultural levels. Individual burnout occurs when a human services worker sets unrealistic high career goals. A human services worker burnouts trying to reach the goals. At the organizational level, burnout occurs when competition is present along with conflict. Lewis, Lewis and Packard (2007) states burnout occurs at this level when the norms are bureaucratic rather than flexible management philosophies. An individual will also experience burnout at this level when he or she is overloaded with work. Supervisors have to show support to employees otherwise burnout will occur. Cultural differences within an organization can cause burnout in employees. The workplace environment has to be staged in a manner that respects all cultures to avoid burnout. Avoidance of burnout takes some serious organizational and people skills for the upper level management team, supervisory staff, and employees. Awareness and Prevention of Burnout If the warning signs of burnout are present, they will only worsen if avoided. Careful observation of self and from supervisory staff will prevent total burnout. An individual can start his or her day with a relaxation ritual such as meditation, inspirational writing or reading. Healthy eating and boundaries are also ways an individual can prevent burnout. Supervisors an reduce caseloads by welcoming volunteers into the organization to assist with the work. Flextime, part time and job sharing can also provide relief from demanding jobs (Lewis, Lewis and Packard 2007). The individual and supervisors have to work together to make the workplace environment non-stressful as possible. The work the employees complete is beneficial to the organization and clients. Without the employees in the right state of mind, the productivity will be low quality. Personal Observation After careful evaluation of the writer’s personality, she reacts to work-related stress by talking about the issues at hand. Communication is a key element for the writer when dealing with work-related stress. Evaluation of an issue with a plan for organization is one of the first steps the writer takes in finding a solution. At different times of the year, beginning and end of school year, the writer experiences a high stress level at work due to the high demand of productivity at these times. The writer works on weekends when the other staff is not in weekends when the other staff is not in to take advantage of the quiet work environment. At different intervals during the school year, the writer has to re-evaluate the situation, reorganize and re-group to gain control and calm in order to be a productive employee. The writer never allows a total burnout to occur. The situation always comes to a halt when the need is recognized through careful observation. Staff Burnout Assistance Human services managers can intervene with staff burnout by offering assistance to reduce caseloads and provide in-service training on topics such as time management and organizational skills. Organizations can offer peer support groups that are common in some high-stress level jobs that have an increased number of caseloads. Peer support groups give employees an opportunity to share ideas and solutions. Employee counseling programs can offer employees an opportunity to talk about their problems with a professional before the burnout level is reached. Manager assistance with burnout is an important part of a supervisor’s responsibilities. A trickling effect of burnout can occur without positive support from supervisors. Conclusion With the recent changes in the workforce, this has contributed to the burnout of employees. Organizations laying off employees. Organizations laying off employees has caused an increased workload on the remaining employees. In turn, this can cause increased stress on employees. Managers should be aware of the signs of burnout and be ready to assist employees in whatever way necessary. Burnout can play a major role in the decrease of productivity in an organization. The writer has discussed pertinent information that can help employees and organizations become aware of and prevent burnout among employees.

Airline Customer Service Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Airline Customer Service - Research Paper Example With the many options that are in the travel market today, airline customer service has to be top notch in order to gain repeat customers. Needs and expectations of the customers Airline customer services have deteriorated in the recent years due to growth of the travel industry. There has been lack of amenities. The airlines use the 9/11 events as reason for their actions by justifying it as economical necessity. Further implementation of newer technology for security screening has added to the frustration of the customers. There is also the matter of the employee and customer relation. This is usually transmitted from the management level. The way they are treated by the management, which in turn is reflected in the employees’ behaviour towards the customers, affects the employees’ morale. Airline companies are constantly in competition with each other for every customer, but even then they are not making the necessary investment in the customer service department. It is not logical for the travel industry professionals to believe that the customers expect 100% efficiency in the airport services. Mostly customers expect some failure in service but at the same time they expect every effort from the Airline Companies to maximise service efficiency. Service failure can occur when the customer’s expectation regarding the level of service is not met. Customers’ expectations too vary. ... The idea was that if the Passenger Bill of Rights was passed through the Congress, then there could be a set of guidelines to perform service to the customers and there could be penalty where there will be non-compliance. Over the years, customers’ tolerance level on bad service has declined. Based on this the airport companies feel there is increased possibility of air rage among customers. A study has been made on customer’s perception towards air rage. There are certain physiological and physical factors over which the airlines have no control like flight delay owing to poor weather. In such case even though the customers perceive this as bad service they still do not have the propensity to air rage. The study has further shown that there is a decline in the customers’ expectations for high level of airport service. Many people feel that flight delays, overbooking and cases of lost baggage are common occurrences these days. If this is true then the customers h old these expectations while traveling long distance in flights. In such cases air rage occurrences get suppressed. Airline customers feel that they are entitled to certain privileges and if they are not granted, the customers are inclined towards more aggressive behavior. Dissatisfaction can arise in customers when there is bad service after good service. One way of moderating customers’ perception of bad service is to provide positive act after a poor service. If airline services can make up for any poor service then the customers may not approve of air rage. Reducing the customers’ negative attitudes towards airlines can create customer satisfaction. Hence the airline company should take every

Drama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Drama - Essay Example Henceforth, the attitude created by the actor in the stage is critical because that attitude determines the environment and the thought the audience will have towards the script. Learning the tactics of acting in a theatre is very important. The actor must familiarize with the character and afterwards learn the details of the subject, which will enable the actor to assume the character and blend with other characters in the vicinity. Before an actor presents the character to the society, the actor must subject the character to the society viewpoint. Brecht and Mueller argue that Stanislavski method of physical action as advantageous in modern acting (160). Brecht and Mueller explain â€Å"first rehearsals the actor show the plot, the event, the business, convinced that feeling and mood will eventually take care of themselves† (160). Therefore, Stanislavski method of physical action gives time to an actor to transform to the character and as the rehearsal proceeds, empathy and mood eventually develop. Brecht and Mueller states that, â€Å"Stanislavski speaks of rhythms which sweep across scene† (160). Sometimes, the rhythm may be insignificant in a scene because of the manner in which an actor expresses the words. In addition, I also agree that the use of images during acting bring forth a better understanding to the audience. Although, Stanislavski system may be challenging to some actors, the system has incredible method of harmonizing several weakness during acting. The system also provides a platform for learning to new and weak actors. Moreover, the system can measure the actor’s talent through the actor’s ability to manage incomplete

Child Sexual Abuse Accommodation Syndrome Term Paper

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Financial Accounting Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Accounting Theory - Essay Example The accounting frameworks are there for wide use of the financial statements of a company. A common framework of accounting would certainly be useful for the stakeholders of the company. But the criticism of the conceptual framework arises as these are not found so useful. The arguments are that the frameworks are not useful as there is lacking of practical evidences. The paper is an attempt to analyze that the conceptual frameworks of financial accounting are really useful or it is just a time wasting activity. Conceptual framework A conceptual framework is made for explaining the factors of the subject and thereby prepares a guideline for making a project. It is a kind of roadmap. The conceptual framework is a set of assumptions about the topic, the concepts, beliefs and theories about the topic. It is guidance to the persons who are associated with certain projects and also it is the guide to the users who are the other stakeholders of the project (Islamic Financial Institutions, n.d., p.1). For developing a conceptual framework experiential knowledge is most necessary to which doesn’t get needed attraction from the researchers. Because of this the conceptual frameworks are not so applicable in the practical field. ... Financial Accounting The existence of accounting theory is because it explains the existing practices and predicts the unobserved practices. The accounting theories also explains that why the firms follow some specific standards and should enable the users to forecast the attributes that may be followed by the firm (Schroeder, Clark & Cathey, 2010, p.1). The accounting theories are basically of two types Normative and positive. The normative theories of accounting are basically subjective and the positive accounting theories are mainly practical and verified enough (Kornai, 2008, p.124-125). The normative theories evolved over time and it shows that how the things should be and positive theories of accounting is more practical as it explain the cause of the event along with the definition of the things. For communicating with relevant information these accounting theories are needed by the accounting professionals and the base of the accounting theories are the conceptual frameworks (Nobes, 1997, p.4). W. A. Paton was the first one to make an accounting theory where he has expressed his views on the valuations of assets and liabilities and distribution of income and entity concepts. Since then the accountants understand the need of a generally accepted principle that will be followed by wide number of companies and their stakeholders. As a result of the great depression in the year 1929 the Generally Accepted Accounting Principle was emerged which was a set of accounting practices (Schroeder, Clark & Cathey, 2010, p.17). The next accounting theories were made by the researchers understanding the deficiencies of the existing framework. Since then some major accounting theories developed by the researchers like

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One ought to never do wrong - Essay Example Socrates argued that if a person does harm unintentionally and is willing to learn, then, he or she can be assisted through education. However, if harm is accused by malice, then punishment should be inevitable. Socrates argues that anyone who acts unjust is a dishonor to himself. Socrates touches on the issue of avenging where he argues that returning evil in retaliation is not meaningful as it does not lead to any gains, rather, it leaves a more humiliated soul (Ahbel-Rappe and Kamtekar 15). This implies that one should be guided by morals of not harming or injuring anyone. Respecting ones beliefs is emphasized by Socrates. He insists that one must do what he or she thinks is right. The right ‘thing’ must prevail regardless of what people think or desire. In a nutshell, Socrates advices that a morally upright person is not supposed to forsake his principles just because he has been

Lake Havasu Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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