Burnout in Social Work

Social workers are considered an occupational group at above-average risk of burnout (Jayaratne & Chess, 1984; Pines & Kafry, 1978). Social work is strongly client related, and practitioners are involved in complex social situations. Also, evaluation criteria of the work are mostly unclear, and role conflicts are abundant. Social workers encounter uncertainty and limited resources to meet high demands. As such, social work is a prime example of the innate conflicts of human services work (Hasenfeld, 1983). Nonetheless, there are surprisingly few empirical studies on burnout in social work. In literature searches (MEDLINE, Psychological Abstracts, and Sociological Abstracts), the authors found only 18 studies that reported any findings on burnout in social workers, who were defined as people with master of social work degrees or people working in social services agencies. This article reviews these studies with three questions in mind: * Are social workers burned out? * What is associated with burnout in social workers? * What should be done about burnout in social workers? Burnout Physician Ernest W. Johnson (1988) argued that the concept of burnout has become a metaphor for "I give up"; a socially accepted word for fatigue, laziness, or change of heart; or a rationalization for "throwing in the sponge. " Johnson referred to results of two studies in which the researchers dismissed "this hyperbolic claim" (that is, burnout) because they did not find any catecholamines in the urine of the investigated people. Johnson simply stated that burnout did not exist and that the concept was used by people who wanted to avoid responsibility in work. For instance, the nurse or the physician could say, "I am burned out" instead of "I detest sick people" or "I can't stand people complaining of pain" (Johnson, 1988). Analogously, the social worker could say that he or she is burned out instead of saying, "I don't want to help a lot of hoodlum clients. " Burnout became popular in the mid-1970s as a characterization of adverse reactions to work, primarily in human services settings (Freudenberger, 1974). Many scientific symposia have dealt with burnout (Cherniss, 1980). Between 1980 and 1985 alone, more than 300 articles in refereed periodicals and at least a dozen books were published (Roberts, 1986). A reason for the popularity of the concept is that it carries low stigma. Unlike other labels, such as incompetence or ineptitude, burnout does not imply that the person afflicted is to blame. To be burned out could be regarded as a way to avoid role responsibilities and obligations without being labeled "deviant" or, as pointed out by Shirom (1989), to acquire a socially accepted label. But if Johnson (1988) was right in his provocations, the widespread use of the concept amounts to a massive ideological humbug. Freudenberger (1974, 1975) is usually given credit for first using the concept "burnout" in a human services setting. He took a word that was used colloquially in the 1960s to refer to the effects of chronic drug abuse and changed its meaning to characterize the psychological state of volunteers who worked in alternative health care agencies. Freudenberger's model of burnout emphasized primarily the psychology of the individual, whereas Maslach (1982) and subsequent writers investigated burnout from a social psychological perspective, with a focus on the relationship between environmental and individual factors (Farber, 1983). Definitions There are many definitions of burnout. According to Maslach (1982), there are at least 30 different definitions and descriptions of the concept. Sometimes causes are included in the definitions and sometimes consequences. Burnout has been variously defined as * "a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life, or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward" (Freudenberger & Richelson, 1980, p. …