The burnout literature is reviewed, compared, and summarized. Based on this process a definition of burnout is proposed encompassing three components: emotional and/or physical exhaustion, lowered work productivity, and overdepersonalization. A model to aid researchers is presented accompanied by research questions in need of answer if burnout is to be more fully understood.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ABC EVENING NEWS. Stress in America. April 1979.
2.
ARMSTRONG, K. L.How can we avoid burn-out? In M. L. Lauderdale, K. N. Anderson, & S. E. Cramer (Eds.), Child abuse and neglect: Issues on innovation and implementation, Vol. 2. Proceedings of the 2nd Annual National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, April 17-20, 1977. DHEW publication (OHDS) 78-30148, 230-238.
3.
BEEHR, T. A., & NEWMAN, J. E.Job stress, employees' health, and organizational effectiveness: A facet analysis, model and literature review. Personnel Psychology, 1978,31, 655-699.
4.
BERKELEY PLANNING ASSOCIATES. Evaluation of child abuse and neglect demonstration project 1974-1977. Volume IX. Project management and worker burnout; Final report. 1977, 2320 Channing Way, Berkeley, California.
5.
BISHOP, J. E.Age of anxiety: Stress and how it affects our lives. Wall Street Journal, April 2, 5, 10, 16, 1979.
6.
BROWN, C., HOLDER, W., GILES, D., & SCHMOLKE, L.The battered worker syndrome: Everything you wanted to know about staff morale but were too burned out to ask. In M. L. Lauderdale, K. N. Anderson, & S. E. Cramer (Eds.), Child abuse and neglect: Issues on innovation and implementation, Vol. 2. Proceedings of the 2nd Annual National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, April 17-20, 1977. DHEW publication (OHDS) 78-30148, 214-225.
7.
CHERNISS, C.Personal communication, October 30, 1980. (a)
8.
CHERNISS, C.Professional burnout in human service organizations. New York: Praeger, 1980. (b)
9.
CHERNISS, C.Staff burnout: Job stress in the human services. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1980. (c)
10.
CHERNISS C., EGNATIOS, E., & WACKER, S.Job stress and career development in new public professionals. Professional Psychology, 1976, 7, 428-436.
11.
CHERNISS, C., EGNATIOS, E. S., WACKER, S., & O'DOWD, B. The professional mystique and burnout in public sector professionals. Unpublished manuscript, University of Michigan, 1979.
12.
CLEVE, J. Combating burnout in the helping professions. Unpublished manuscript, 1979. Available from Director Outpatient Services, Portage County Human Services, P. 0. Box 66, Stevens Point, Wis. 54481.
13.
COLLINS, G. R.Burnout: The hazard of professional helpers, Christianity Today, 1977, 21(13),12-14.
14.
COOPER, C. L., & PAYNE, R. (Eds.) Stress at work. New York: Wiley, 1978.
15.
DALEY, M. R.Burnout: Smoldering problem in protective services. Social Work, 1979, 24, 375-379. (a)
16.
DALEY, M. R.Preventing worker burnout in child welfare. Child Care Quarterly, 1979, 59, 443-458. (b)
17.
EDELWICH, J., & BRODSKY, A.Burn-out: Stages of disillusionment in the helping profession. New York: Human Sciences Press, 1980.
18.
FREUDENBERGER, H. J.Staff burn-out. Journal of Social Issues, 1974,30, 159-165.
19.
FREUDENBERGER, H. J.The staff burn-out syndrome in alternative institutions. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 1975, 12, 73-82.
20.
FRISUDENBERGER, H. J.Bum-out: Occupational hazard of the child care worker. Child Care Quarterly, 1977, 56, 90-99. (a)
21.
FREUDENBERGER, H. J.Speaking from experience, Bum-out: The organizational menance. Training and Development Journal, July 1977,31(7), 26-27. (b)
22.
FREUDENBERGER, H. J.Burnout: The high cost of high achievement. New York: Anchor Press, 1980.
23.
GANN, M. L. The role of personality factors and job characteristics in burnout: A study of social service workers. (Doctoral dissertation, University of California-Berkeley, 1979). Dissertation Abstracts International, 1979, 34(07B), #8000351, 3366.
24.
GERTZ, B.Personal communication, July 8, 1979.
25.
GINSBERG, S. G.The problem of the burned out executive. Personnel Journal, 1974, August, 598-600.
26.
GREENBLATT, M.Psychopolitics. New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1978.
27.
HACKMAN, J. R., & OLDHAM, G. R.Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1975,60, 159-170.
28.
HOUSE, J. S., & WELLS, J. A.Occupational stress, social support, and health. In A. Mc-Lean (Ed.), Reducing occupational stress: Proceedings of a conference (DHEW (NIOSH) Publication No. 78-140). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 1978.
29.
JUSTICE, B., & JUSTICE, R.Training workers in more effective case management. In M. L. Lauderdale, K. N. Anderson, & S. E. Cramer (Eds.). Child abuse and neglect: Issues on innovation & implication, Vol. 2, Proceedings of the 2nd Annual National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect, April 17-20, 1977. DHEW publication (OHDS) 78-30148, 200-201.
30.
KAHN, R.Job burnout: Prevention and remedies. Public Welfare, 1978, 36(2), 61-63.
31.
KUNKEL, R.The burnout syndrome in health care... a preventable syndrome. RFW Newsletter, August 1979. Presented at "Preventive Interventions in the Practice of Medicine," a seminar co-sponsored by the Eisenhower Medical Center and the Soceity of Prospective Medicine, March 15, 1979, Rancho Mirage, Calif.
32.
LARSON, C. C., GILBERTSON, D. L., & POWELL, J. A.Therapist burnout: Perspectives on a critical issue. Social Casework, November 1978, 563-565.
33.
McGRATH, J. E.Social and psychological factors in stress. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1970.
34.
McGuire, W. H.Teacher burnout. Today's Education. November/December 1979, 5-5.
35.
McLean, A. (Ed.). Occupationalstress. Springfield, Ill.: Thomas, 1974.
36.
McLean, A. (Ed.). Reducing occupational stress. Proceedings of a Conference (DHEW (NIOSH) Publication No. 78-140). Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, April 1978.
37.
MALOOF, B. A.Peculiarities of human service bureaucracies. Administration in mental Health, Fall 1975, 21-26.
38.
MASLACH, C.Burned-out. Human Behavior, September 1976, 5, 16-22.
39.
MASLACH, C.Burnout: A social psychological analysis. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, August 1977.
40.
MASLACH, C.The client role in staff burnout. Journal of Social Issues, 1978, 34, 11-24. (a)
41.
MASLACH, C.Job Burnout: How people cope. Public Welfare, 1978, 36, 56-58. (b)
42.
MASLACH, C.The burn-out syndrome and patient care. In C. Garfield (Ed.), Stress and survival. St. Louis: Mosby, 1979.
43.
MASLACH, C.Personal communication, October 30, 1980.
MASLACH, C., & JACKSON, S. E.Burned out cops and their families. Psychology Today, May 1979, 12(12), 59-62.
46.
MASLACH, C., & JACKSON, S. E.The measurement of experienced burout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 1981, 2, 99-113.
47.
MASLACH, C., & PINES, A.The burn-out syndrome in the day care setting. Child Care Quarterly, 1977, 6, 100-113.
48.
MASLACH, C., & PINES, A.Burnout: The loss of human caring. In A. Pines & C. Maslach (Eds.). Experiencing Social Psychology. New York: Knopf, 1979, 246-252.
49.
MATTESON, M. T.;, & IVANCEVICH, J. M.Organizational stressors and heart disease: A research model. Academy of Management Review, 1979, 4, 347-357.
50.
MATTINGLY, M. A.Sources of stress and burn-out in professional care work. Child Care Quarterly, 1977, 6, 127-137.
51.
MENNERICK, L. A.Client typologies: A method of coping with conflict in the service worker-client relationship. Sociology of Work and Occupations, November 1974, 1, 396-418.
52.
METZ, P. An exploratory study of professional burnout and renewal among educators. (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Colorado-Boulder, 1979). Dissertation Abstracts International, 1979, 40(080A), #8002998, 4308.
53.
MTYER, J. H. Social construction of burnout: An emergent theory. (Doctoral Dissertation, Boston University, 1979). Dissertation Abstracts International, 1979, 40(09B), #8005256,4568.
54.
MITCHELL, M. D., JONES, J. E., & PFEIFFER, J. W.Consultant burout. In The 1977 annual handbook for group facilitators. University Associates, Inc., LaJolla, Calif. 1977.
55.
MONAT, A., & LAZARUS, R. S.Stress and coping-Some current issues and controversies. In A. Monat & R. S. Lazarus (Eds.), Stress and coping: An anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1977.
56.
NEWMAN, J. E., & BEEHR, T. A.Personal and organizational strategies for handling job stress: A review of research and opinion. Personnel psychology, 1979, 32, 1-43.
57.
PATRICK, P. K. S.Burout: Job hazard for health workers. Hospitals, November 1979, 87-89.
58.
PERLMAN, B., & HARTMAN, E. A.Stress, coping and the human service provider. Paper presented at the symposium Burnout in the Helping Professions, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1979.
59.
PERLMAN, B., & HARTMAN, E. A.The Community Health Care Administrator Project, 1980, Box 178, Dempsey Hall, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisc. 54901.
60.
PERLMAN, B., & HARTMAN, E. A.An Integration of Burnout into a Stress Model. 1981, ERIC, Document Reproduction Service Number ED 190939.
61.
PINES, A., ARONSON, E., & KAFRY, D.Burnout: From tedium to personal growth. N.J. Free Press, 1980.
62.
PINES, A., & MASLACH, C.Characteristics of staff burn-out in mental health settings. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 1978, 29, 233-237.
63.
PINES, A., & MASLACH, C.Combatting staff burn-out in a child care center: A case study. Child Care Quarterly, 1980, 9, 5-16.
64.
POINT-COUNTERPOINT. American Humane, October 1977, 26-27.
65.
SARASON, S.The least restrictive alternative. For the served only? Book in preparation, 1980, Chap. I.
66.
SEIDERMAN, S.Combatting Staff burn-out. Day Care and Early Education, Summer 1978, 6-9.
67.
SHUBIN, S.Burnout: The professional hazard you face in nursing. Nursing 78, 1978, 8(7), 22-27.
68.
TEACHER BURNOUT: How to cope when your world goes black: Instructor special report. Instructor, January 1979, 56-62.
69.
TINBERGEN, N.Ethology and stress diseases. Science, 1974, 185, 20-23.
70.
VASH, C. L.The burnt-out administrator. New York: Springer, 1980.
71.
WARNATH, C. F., & SHELTON, J. L.The ultimate disappointment: The burned out counselor. Personnel and Guidance Journal, December 1976, 172-175.
72.
WESTERHOUSE, M. A. The effects of tenure, role conflict and role conflict resolution on the work orientation and burnout of teachers. (Doctoral Dissertation, University of California-Berkeley, 1979). Dissertation Abstracts International, 1979, 41(01A), #8014928, 174.
