Burnout syndrome in the helping professions

Psychol Rep. 2002 Feb;90(1):309-14. doi: 10.2466/pr0.2002.90.1.309.

Abstract

Burnout can be defined as a long-term reaction to occupational stress which involves, particularly, the helping professions. The main aim of this study was the assessment of burnout in a sample of professional and voluntary health care workers and comparison of the two samples on scores from the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Analysis suggests a significant difference in mean scores for Emotional Exhaustion of volunteers vs professional workers. Some evidence has supported the hypothesis of a fourth dimension, called Behavioral Exhaustion, in the burnout syndrome.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Burnout, Professional / psychology*
  • Female
  • Health Personnel / psychology*
  • Humans
  • Italy
  • Male
  • Personality Inventory*
  • Volunteers / psychology*