A Burnout Risk Checklist: Know your risk so you can prevent burnout
[Originally posted on Psychology Today on 19 September 2023]
We are curious creatures, so it is only natural we want to know why someone burns out. We often want to know this to mitigate the risk of burning out.
To repeat the words of burnout researchers Maslach and Leiter:
"Burnout is a psychological syndrome emerging as a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job. The three key dimensions of this response are overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from the job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment." (2016, p. 103).
Fortunately, there has been a lot of investigation into the burnout risk factors. I have summarised the findings below into occupational and individual risk factors. I hope this can become your workplace or personal burnout risk checklist.
Occupational Risk Factors
Occupational risk factors stem from your working environment (e.g., work type). Things may not be in your direct control to change, but where possible, you can make adjustments, including changing your career, crafting how you work or changing workplaces.
Work type
People in intensive professions or roles that involve critical care and caregiving of others (e.g., medical professionals) are more vulnerable to burnout. In addition, characteristically unpredictable work, meaningless work or work that goes against one’s values or morals, puts people at risk of burnout.
Workload
It is not just about the quantity of work but about the quality of work. Work that requires sustained effort to keep up with it and work with physiological and psychological costs to the individual is more likely to invoke burnout.
Emotional labour
Work that involves either emotional suppression or expression sustained for long periods that are not aligned with how you feel may lead to burnout.
Lack of autonomy and influence at work
Working in places where you are micro-managed and have little influence over how you work is a precursor for burnout.
Role ambiguity and role conflict
A person is more vulnerable to burnout when one’s work role hasn’t been adequately explained (i.e., role ambiguity). Also, where there are incompatible demands (i.e., role conflict).
Inadequate supervision
Supervision that is excessively directive, focused only on the negative aspects, devalues achievement and effort, non-directive or non-existent are all found to contribute to a risk for burnout.
Perceived injustices, violence and bullying
Discrimination or even favouritism in the workplace has been linked to burnout. Fair treatment of workers, allowing for the required resources, has a positive effect on reducing burnout.
Perceived lack of social support
Social support received from leaders or co-workers has been found to help prevent burnout.
Work hours
Any working conditions that impact an individual's life balance have been found to contribute to burnout (e.g., shift work, high rotations, night work, long working hours, or large amounts of overtime).
Individual Risk Factors
Outside of occupational factors, there are individual factors that contribute to the experience of burnout. Factors include how a person copes with stress, sociodemographic data (e.g., gender, etc.), and personality traits.
Personality traits
Most burnout research has focused on the Big 5 personality traits. Neuroticism — an enduring tendency or disposition to experience negative emotional states — enhances burnout. Both agreeableness — getting along with others and concern for social harmony; and conscientiousness — adhering to rules and norms, being responsible, hard-working and goal-directed — are both a protector and risk factor for burnout (mixed results found here). The personality traits that help protect one from burnout are extraversion — seeking greater stimulation, energised around people, thinking out loud, having an extensive social network, thriving in teams and crowds, enjoying the centre of attention, valuing broad experiences; and openness to experience — breadth of interests and creativity.
Type A behavioural pattern
Individuals with a Type A behavioural pattern — competitiveness, impulsivity, impatience and aggressiveness — are more vulnerable to burnout.
External locus of control
If you are someone who always believes that things occur due to factors outside of your control, such as chance or decisions others make, you are more vulnerable to burnout.
High expectations
There are standards that exceed what is humanly possible. When combined with excessive goal setting and effort to achieve them, one's vulnerability for burnout is much higher.
Level of involvement
One’s involvement in their work has been linked to burnout, particularly over-involvement when linked to impossible goals set.
Age
As people age, the risk for burnout decreases. The results here are inconsistent. Some studies have found that specific dimensions of burnout — depersonalisation/cynicism increase with age.
Gender
Women score higher on emotional exhaustion and lower in professional fulfilment and efficacy dimensions of burnout than men. Men score higher on depersonalisation aspects of burnout.
Marital status
Single workers (especially men) are more exposed to burnout than those living with a partner. Women living with a partner and working are at additional risk due to being responsible for caring roles at home.
Coping strategies
Research has focused on two broad categories of coping styles: emotion-focused (EFC) and problem-focused coping (PFC). PFC is where one copes by directly attending to a stressful situation. This coping style is believed to be protective from burnout when one has direct control over the problem (e.g., reducing the number of clients seen daily). However, where one doesn’t have that control, this coping style is associated with increased burnout. EFC, on the other hand, is believed to be protective from burnout when you are doing this to approach/tend to difficult emotions (e.g., mindfulness, meditation, talking to a loved one, etc.) rather than avoid/get rid of (e.g., drink, reassure, distract). More research is needed in this area to understand this relationship.
Other individual factors
Alexithymia
Low levels of support at home.
Stress in private life, isolation, or conflict.
Low self-esteem — how we value and see ourselves.
Low levels of resilience — the ability to respond adaptively to adversity.
Well, there you have it. I hope your minds have expanded and you are now equipped with the knowledge to assess the risk for burnout.
Take care of you
References
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