Transcript Work & Wellbeing: Burnout in Academic Staff

Work & Wellbeing: Burnout in Academic Staff
Jenny Watts ([email protected]) & Noelle Robertson
School of Psychology
Results continued….
What is burnout?
Staff in pastoral occupations can feel
weary, frustrated and numb after dealing
with other’s concerns. This reaction is
termed burnout.
Explaining depersonalisation
1 significant predictor variable:
• Lower perceived social support
There are 3 components:
Total variance explained 6.2%
• Emotional exhaustion = the depletion
of emotional reserves
• Depersonalisation = an increasingly
cynical and negative approach towards
others
• Reduced personal accomplishment = a
growing feeling of work-related
dissatisfaction
(R²=0.062 )
Why study burnout?
Burnout is a common consequence of
providing care and assistance within the
workplace.
University teaching staff give support
and advice to many students and
therefore this interaction can make them
vulnerable to burnout.
Consequences of burnout
Staff turnover, reduced productivity, and
increased absenteeism.
Data Analysis
The mean burnout scores were
compared with normative values from
other teaching samples.
Multiple regression analysis
established predictive relationships
between the components of burnout
and work related variables
Conclusions
The mean and standard deviation
scores from the University teaching
staff were not dissimilar to data from
secondary school and sixth form
teachers
A survey applicable to 328 full-time, nonclinical teaching staff was advertised
and accessible via the University’s
electronic newsletter.
84 full-time non-clinical teachers
participated (response rate =25%).
• Teaching staff who sense a greater level
of peer support are less likely to feel
psychologically distanced from their
students.
• Staff who felt lower agreement with the
goals of the institution, lower perceived
social support and spent more time
completing administration tasks felt more
emotionally exhausted.
Explaining emotional exhaustion
3 significant predictor variables:
•L lower person-organisation
congruence
• Higher admin workload
• Lower perceived social support
Total variance explained 23.9%
(R²=0.239)
48 questions determined basic
demographic details, weekly tasks,
student contact hours, perceptions of the
workplace, and scores from the Maslach
Burnout Inventory.
It appears that perceptions of the
workplace are critical:
• Spending more time supervising
postgraduates negatively predicted
personal accomplishment scores.
Factors were sought which predict the
experience of burnout within academic
teaching staff.
Method
1 significant predictor variable:
• Greater time spent supervising
postgraduate students
Total variance explained14.1%
(R²=0.141).
Results
Study aims
Burnout is thought to impact negatively
upon teaching and research quality,
therefore this information could be used
to guide prevention strategies.
Explaining reduced personal
accomplishment
• Mean burnout scores did not differ
greatly from normative values for other
education professionals
Implications
It is important that occupational policy
promotes a more socially supportive
working environment to reduce
burnout.
References
Bilge, F., (2006). Examining the burnout of
academics in relation to job satisfaction and
other factors, Social Behavior and Personality,
34, (9), 1151-1160.
Maslach, C., and Jackson, S.E., (1996).
Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual, Third
Edition, Palo Alto, CA: Consulting
Psychologists Press.