It has been a common observation in our societies that someone doing the same job for years eventually gets fad up from it and tries to avoid it as much as possible. His efficiency gets weak he does not remain able to provide further effective work outcomes as he was used to do. In extreme cases, it has also been observed that the person eventually leaves the job since he feels that he cannot do any more work. Similarly, when someone is assigned to take care of some person who is chronically ill or disable, initially the caregiver has enthusiasm and he tries to do his job in the most effective and efficient ways. However with the passage of time, the care giver realizes that he is subjected to same routine for years and does not want to do it anymore. This phenomenon of emotion exhaustion and reduced personal efficiency to perform job or work accomplishments is termed as to be ‘Burnt Out’ in psychological terms. This phenomenon is closely associated with job stress which arises from the continuous social interaction between the giver and the receiver (Maslach, 2003).
People associated with every kind of job can be ‘burnt out’ after several years of doing the same work over and over again. Usually social workers, nurses, long termed physicians, writers and teachers are those who suffer with the impact of burnout. However, it is not necessary that someone associated with a paid profession can only go through burn out; sometimes parents of disable child, family caregiver of a chronically ill aged person, care giver spouse for a long time can also undergo burn out. There can be many reasons for it, some of which include de-valuation of one’ work, negative attitude of social circle or community and conflicts with them, individual’s own mental, physical and emotional exhaustion, work overloading, work unstaisfaction, detachment from work or from the receiving individual etc. All these factors usually impact in a negative way and completely drain a person mentally and emotionally (Maslach, 2003).
The overall effects of burnout can be mild to chronic. Mild effects can be diagnosed through early symptoms and effective psychological methodologies can be used in order to treat the patient. However, people associated with long term or chronic stress can be subjected to chronic burnout, which can be dangerous for them to the extent of cognitive impairment and malfunctioning. A study conducted by Sandstorm et. Al (2005) over 67 female patients in Sweden revealed drastic and intense impacts of chronic burnout as a result of chronic stress. Impaired cognitive functioning has been observed in these patients upon overall cognitive abilities. Standardized tests were conducted over these patients to check the overall condition of their verbal and non-verbal audio attention, visual strength, verbal and non-verbal memory and verbal and nonverbal cognitive ability. It was observed that these patients show significantly lower levels of cognitive attentions as compared with the healthy persons. It was extracted from the research that chronic burnout amongst the professionals can have severe impacts over their personalities which can become evident even in the early diagnosis process. Although there was not significant reduction in their overall intelligence, certain cognitive abilities have certainly been impacted by the chronic stress they have been facing throughout their career. Chronic burnout is certainly a disorder as compared with mild burnout and must be treated according to the extent and reasons for the particular case (Sandstorm et. Al., 2005).
Burnout syndrome is most common to observe in physicians and doctors all over the world. Since they remain associated with their professions almost lifelong and do not usually take retirements, they are more likely to suffer with burnout and its effects. The work stress through which they undergo lessens their efficiency which ultimately becomes life threatening for the patients. Other than work stress and overloading which causes the physicians to burnout, dissatisfaction of their jobs and work environment is also a big factor for causing the syndrome. Visser et. Al (2003) conducted a research over the impacts of job dissatisfaction and job stress which eventually leads to burnout over 2400 Dutch medical specialists. It was responded by the 81% individuals that burnout occurs if the person is subjected to job dissatisfaction, 55% of them argued that it’s the work stress which causes burnout. Research suggested that inappropriate working conditions also play a major part in causing burn out syndrome amongst the professionals. If the person feels that he is not properly utilized, subjected to devaluation and is poorly managed, he undergoes through job stress and job dissatisfaction which eventually leads him to be burnout. In this way, they do not only make their job an unwanted task but also compromise over the quality of care and advice of the patients who are dependent upon them. Therefore, it was suggested by the research that the overall environment of organization must be made compatible so that the professionals feel satisfied towards their jobs and deliver the best of them. The study also reveals that since a large number of respondents indicated job dissatisfaction as a reason for burnout, personal factors are of low consideration in considering the effects of burnout (Visser et. Al., 2003).
Man is a social animal. If he gets emotionally disturbed due to any reason, the entire surroundings can be affected in an equal way. It is a general observation that unhappy, discontented and dissatisfied professionals and workers undergo through behavioral changes with their colleagues and even with their employers too. These changes can act in both ways; either the employee is fired from the organization or the employee turns over the entire scenario of the organization. In both ways, the outcomes and drastic and occur as a result of burnout because of emotional exhaustion of the employee. A study conducted by Huang et. Al (2003) indicates this fact and effect of burnout by employees within an organization. The study titled The Role of Burnout in the Relationship between Perceptions of Organizational Politics and Turnover Intentions’ explains that it is commonly believed amongst the masses that bad organizational politics urge the employees to have intentions and efforts of turning over. However, there are certain elements of emotional exhaustion in a working environment which can cause burnout amongst the employees and can force them to have turnover intentions. Continuous devaluation of employees, limited number of resources available to them, work stress and under paying can trigger the emotions of the employees and can make them emotionally exhausted. As a result, they are forced to take such steps in which the organization is threatened to be turned over. However, it usually happens in a majority setup, i.e., when a significant number of employees under through mental exhaustion because of the policies of the organization and unite together to fight for their rights. This is a good way to get rid of burnout problems and to save one’s self from chronic burnout effects (Huang et. Al., 2003).
Thus to conclude, the effects of burnout can vary mild to severe, depending upon the particular circumstances of individual. The effects are mental, psychological and can cause severe impacts over the individual and his circumstances. The effects can sometimes be as severe that an individual’s care taker may want to take his life for being involved with him for such a long period of time. Other impacts include behavioral changes with the family members, mild to severe attacks on them as a result of extreme frustration and suicidal attempts to get rid of the impacts of burnout. These problems should certainly be addressed appropriately to avoid any drastic outcomes lately (Maslach, 2003).
References
Maslach, C. (2003). Burnout: The cost of caring. Cambridge, MA: Malor Books.
Huang, I.-C., Chuang, C.-H. J., & Lin, H.-C. (December 2003). The Role of Burnout In the Relationship Between Perceptions of Organizational Politics and Turnover Intentions. Public Personnel Management, 32, 4, 519.
Sandstrom, A., Rhodin, I., Lundberg, M., Olsson, T., & Nyberg, L. (July 01, 2005). Impaired Cognitive Performance in Patients with Chronic Burnout Syndrome. Biological Psychology, 69, 3, 271-279.
Visser, M. R., Smets, E. M., Oort, F. J., & De, H. H. C. (January 01, 2003). Stress, satisfaction and burnout among Dutch medical specialists. Cmaj : Canadian Medical Association Journal = Journal De L'association Medicale Canadienne, 168, 3, 271-5.
