Work-Related Stress,Burnout,Compassion,and Work Satisfaction of Professional Workers in Vocational Rehabilitation

Abstract

This article presents a study of stress and stress-related issues—more specifically, those of burnout, work compassion, and job satisfaction in the population of professionals working in vocational rehabilitation in Republic of Slovenia. Our findings revealed that, on average, the professional workers experience stress as medium high. Further analyses between various subgroups of the population of professional workers revealed that fixed-term workers are under significantly more stress than permanent ones. Stress factors included high work demands, time pressure, and too many administrative tasks. Participants reported making decisions, especially making risky decisions, and the feeling of being undervalued as being the main causes of frustration at work. Main sources of stress stem from the organization of work (legislation, rules, and other institutions). The population of professional workers was also highly exposed to compassion fatigue, which was a risk factor for burnout. These findings raise questions about assertiveness and call for a systemic approach. Based on these results, those proposed activities target developing skills for effective coping with stress, both on the individual and system levels.