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Job-related stress over a prolonged period may lead to feelings of exhaustion, commonly referred to as burnout. Little is known, however, about tbe prevalence of such conditions among occupational therapists. This study addressed the following general research questions: fs burnout a significant problem among hospital-based registered occupational therapists (OTRs)? Is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) an appropriate instrument for measuring burnout of OTRs? Do specific OTR subgroups score differently on the measures of burnout? To gather exploratory data in this area, the MBI and a demographic sheet were administered to 135 hospital-based OTRs employed in Virginia. Findings suggested that the OTR respondents experienced moderate levels of burnout. Managers/supervisors, OTRs employed in government-owned facilities, OTRs employed in general hospitals, and OTRs treating patients included under the Medicare Prospective Payment System experienced significantly higher levels of burnout than those in other settings. The MBI appeared to be the best available instrument for measuring burnout; however, norms should be established for the occupational therapy profession.
Key Words: administration * job-related stress
The term burnout is sometimes used in everyday language to mean feelings of exhaustion resulting from various causes; however, researchers consider burnout a result of job-related stress. Therefore, the literature may refer to job burnout in order to differentiate the study of burnout from colloquial usage. In this article, job-related burnout is referred to simply as "burnout."
Most workers experience job-related emotional stress at some time during their careers. Some stress is needed to help a person become alert and productive, although too much stress can have negative consequences (Adams, 1978). When stress experienced on the job becomes chronic, it can result in the syndrome of burnout. This is characterized by a feeling of emotional exhaustion in which the worker develops depersonalizing attitudes toward service recipients and experiences feelings of reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). Teachers, nurses, and counselors have received considerable attention regarding burnout because of the various ongoing Stressors associated with their jobs. For example, work overload, poor working conditions, role conflict or ambiguity, and minimal decision-making power are all Stressors experienced in the workplace that have been found to contribute to burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1982).
The prevalence of stress in some jobs is higher than in others. In their study...