NCJ Number
70026
Date Published
1979
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This fast-paced film uses television soap operas, commercials, and news interviews to talk about the varied causes of burnout and strategies for coping with its effects.
Abstract
Burnout, a cluster of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion reactions occurs frequently in a wide variety of people working in the helping professions. It results from constant or repeated emotional arousal which is associated with an intense involvement with people over long periods. Burnout appears to be a major factor in low morale, absenteeism, and high job turnover and plays a primary role in the poor delivery of health and welfare services. A person experiencing burnout may experience negative self-concepts and job attitudes and may treat clients in a detached and dehumanized fashion. To cope with burnout, the film suggests that people should listen to their bodies, build support groups for sharing professional problems, compartmentalize or separate home problems from work problems, and make out a list of priorities. Other suggestions include developing a detached concern which combines professional equanimity with care and compassion, and learning to laugh at work. Two manuals by two research professionals in the area of burnout accompany the film.