Stress

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Stress Burnout

• Presenter Stephanie Brenenson

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According to Websters Third online

• 1 Burnout (noun)
• 1 a fire that consumes all the flammable
  contents (as of a building) broadly a large
  and destructive fire
• 2 a breakdown of an electrical circuit caused
  by fusion or combustion (as of a conducting
  element or insulation) resulting from abnormal
  increase in temperature
• 3 an area of soil from which the organic
  material has been removed by fire or other agency
  leaving usu. a distinct depression of unfertile
  mineral soil
• 4 the moment at which a jet or rocket motor
  exhausts its fuel
• Addenda Burnout (noun)
• 1 the process or an instance of burning out
• 2 a the cessation of operation of a jet or
  rocket engine as the result of exhaustion of or
  shutting off of fuel
• b the point in the trajectory of a rocket
  engine at which burnout occurs
• 3 a exhaustion of physical or emotional
  strength usu. as a result of prolonged stress or
  frustration
• b a person suffering from burnout

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Definitions of Burnout

• Oxford English Dictionary
• - burnout does not appear but stress does
  appear
• - new terms include stress buster and stress
  counsellor
• Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com)
• 1. Some one who smokes so much pot that they
  become slow and dumb
• 2. long term physical and mental exhaustion
  associated with a task (usually
  monotonous/repetitive tasks or ones careers)

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More Def

• ERIC Thesaurus
• Burnout Negative feelings and/or behaviors
  resulting from unsuccessful attempts to cope with
  stress conditions -- characterized by physical
  and emotional exhaustion, chronic negative
  attitudes, very low productivity, etc.
• Teacher burnout Teachers' syndrome caused by
  inability to cope with stressful occupational
  conditions -- characterized by low morale, low
  productivity, high absenteeism, and high job
  turnover

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What Does Burnout Look Like?

• Exhaustion first reaction to the stress of job
  demands or major change
• Cynicism minimize involvement at work and give
  up on ideals
• Ineffectiveness growing sense of inadequacy.
• (Maslach, p.17-18)

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Symptoms of Instruction Librarian Burnout
(Barnett et al.)

• Mental
• Depression and mental exhaustion
• Change in professional goals
• Psychological withdrawal from work
• Growing concern for self instead of others
• Dread of teaching classes
• Negative attitude towards life in general

• Physical
• Elevated blood pressure
• Coronary heart disease
• Poor immune system
• Increased occurrences of illness
• Physical exhaustion

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Symptoms of IL Burnout (Barnett et al.)

• Emotional
• Emotional exhaustion or detachment
• Inability to empathize with patrons
• Blaming patrons for their inability to
  understand concepts or tools
• Feelings of reduced personal accomplishment
• Seeking non-work pursuits for fulfillment,
  meaning, and stimulation

• Social
• Feelings of isolation from colleagues and
  profession
• Rude towards patrons
• Irritable or impatient
• No time for colleagues or activities
• Unwillingness to help patrons
• Depersonalization

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What Causes Burnout?

• Herbert Freudenberger coined the term burnout
  1974.
• (1980)
• overdedication, overcommitment, and having
  unrealistic goals.
• whenever the expectation level is dramatically
  opposed to reality and the person persists in
  trying to reach that expectation.
• Burnout is pretty much limited to dynamic,
  charismatic, goal-oriented men and women or to
  determined idealists.
• (Becker, 1993)

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Why Burnout is Thriving

• According to Christine Maslach,
  (author of the Maslach Burnout Inventory)
• Burnout is always more likely when there is a
  mismatch between the nature of the job and the
  nature of the person who does the job
• We feel overloaded
• We lack control over what we do
• We are not rewarded for out work
• Were experiencing a breakdown in community
• We arent treated fairly
• Were dealing with conflicting values
• (Maslach, p. 9-17)

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More Contributors to Stress Burnout

• Technology
• Constantly changing
• Email
• Virtual Reference Technostress (Van Fleet)
• Performance anxiety
• Info overload
• Loss of personal identity
• Downsizing, layoffs and/or retrenchment have
  forced employees to take on the work of those who
  have left.
• Public service workers are spending more time on
  administrative drudgery
• Multitasking
• Bringing work home
• Busy home lives make it difficult to find relief
  outside of the workplace
• Economic stagnation - salaries vs. purchasing
  power

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Why academic instruction librarians?

• Lower-division instruction
• Repetitive nature of instruction sessions
• Reaching uninterested, unmotivated students
• Patterson Howell survey of 112 instruction
  librarians (1990)
• 33 believed their proficiency in educational
  methodology was inadequate
• 38 were apprehensive about their teaching duties
• 64 saw a need to improve teaching skills
• 19.5 indicated they had not been able to
  overcome the repetitiveness of the material they
  had to present. (Becker)
• Faculty vs. Non-faculty / Tenure vs. Non-tenure
• Conflicting expectations
• Responsibilities for teaching, reference,
  collection development, liaison and on and on?

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Everyone Loses

• Employees personal loss
• Quality of life and potential are both reduced
• Organizations loss of workforce
• Drop in quality and quantity of work produced
• Dedication, creativity and productivity
  diminished
• Who is responsible? Worker or workplace?

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Individual or Organizational Responsibility?

• Focusing on individual responsibility means
  learning how to deal with the stressors on the
  job rather than figuring out how to get rid of
  them to create a stress-free environment.
• Focusing on organizational responsibility is not
  simply a matter of reducing negatives in the
  workplace it is also an attempt to increase
  positives.
• Strategies for developing engagement with work
  are those that enhance energy, involvement, and
  efficacy.
• (Maslach, p.77)
• Stress is not the fault of the individual or the
  organization, its the interaction between them.
• (OReilly)

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Workplace is the Problem

• Burnout is a barometer of a major social
  dysfunction in the workplace
• The organization needs to change
• There is greater success in coping with burnout
  from focusing on promoting engagement with work
  rather than from just focusing on reducing
  burnout.
• (Maslach)

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Organizational Coping Strategies

• Make times-out available (perform some
  non-client-centered work)
• Limit hours of stressful work
• Increase organizational flexibility (assign tasks
  to accommodate individual strengths and
  limitations, but do not overburden competent
  employees)
• Train new professionals to handle mental and
  physical stress
• Improve physical working conditions
• Maintain a fair-minded workplace, recognizing the
  direct connection between consistent values such
  as loyalty, responsibility, and initiative
  (Frost, p.27)
• Prepare intervention strategies for times of
  distress or change (such as layoffs, personal
  trauma among staff, or natural disasters) (Frost,
  p.28)
• Build a company culture that values compassion
  and community as beneficial to productivity and
  to people (Frost, p.28)
• Modify the library instruction program utilizing
  realistic goals, objectives and outcomes

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Personal Coping Strategies

• Be aware of the problem
• Take responsibility for doing something about it.
• Try new teaching techniques to battle
  repetitiveness including team teaching
• Learn to distinguish the aspects that can and
  cannot be changed within the organization and
  distinguishing between the demands of the job and
  demands placed on oneself.
• Seek assistance from the employee-assistance
  program.
• Exercise builds fitness, strengthens the immune
  system, reduces tension, improves sleep, aids
  concentration, provides a sense of well-being
  (endorphins).

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Steps for Breaking Out of the Negative Stress
Cycle

• Stop the negative messages flooding your mind.
• Breathe by taking a deep breath and slowly
  letting the air out.
• Reflect on the situation
• Choose to find a solution
• (Managing Stress, p.27)

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From Get a grip! Overcoming Stress and Thriving
in the Workplace.

• Find some downtime at work
• Stay away from office politics
• Avoid the grapevine
• Deal with change better
• Watch what you say to yourself
• Do a plus-minus analysis
• Do not bring it home
• Find some time to relax at home
• Hang out with positive people

• Turn off the TV
• Count your blessings every day
• Do not sweat the petty stuff
• Rituals versus Change
• Get a thorough exam
• Get enough sleep
• Learn to manage your anger
• Share problems with others
• Smile a lot!

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Reference List

• Barnett, Lisa and Melissa Browne, Katherine
  Harris. Fanning the Flames Strategies for
  Combatting Burnout and Reinvigorating
  Instruction. LOEX 2003. (A 2004 version of
  their powerpoint is available online via
  www.niagara.edu/library/acrl/barnharr.ppt)
• Becker, Karen A. The Characteristics of
  Bibliographic Instruction in Relation to the
  causes and symptoms of burnout. RQ. 32.3 (Spring
  1993) 346. (accessed February 25, 2008).
• Caputo, Janette S. Stress and Burnout in Library
  Service. Phoenix Oryx Press, 1991.
• Cunningham, Justin. Just Relax. Professional
  Engineering, November 22, 2006 33.
  http//www.proquest.com/ (accessed October 13,
  2008).
• Frost, Peter J. Toxic Emotions at Work How
  Compassionate Managers Handle Pain and Conflict.
  Boston Harvard Business School Press, 2003.
• Haar, Jarrod M. The downside of coping
  Work-family conflict, employee burnout and the
  moderating effects of coping strategies.
  Journal of Management and Organization. 12.2
  (Sept. 2006) 146.
• Losyk, Bob Get a Grip! Overcoming Stress and
  Thriving in the Workplace. Hoboken John Wiley
  Sons, 2005.
• Managing Stress Expert Solutions to Everyday
  Challenges. Boston Harvard Business School Pub.,
  2007.
• Maslach, Christine and Michael P. Leiter. The
  Truth About Burnout How Organizations Cause
  Personal Stress and What to Do About It. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass, 1997.
• OReilly, Sally. Making Work Better.
  Occupational Health 60.6 (June 2008) 22.
  ABIInform http//www.proquest.com/. (accessed
  October 13, 2008).