BURNOUT SYNDROME: SOCIAL WORKERS' ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE CORRELATION BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT AND WAYS OF COPING WITH PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT

Abstract

There is a lack of research that focuses on the burnout syndrome experienced by social workers, the contexts in which this burnout syndrome occurs as well as the coping mechanisms to overcome it. Also, there is a lack of research that deals with the correlation between the professional development of social workers and the burnout syndrome that they experience.  One of the ways to overcome the burnout could be timely and targeted professional development for social workers to facilitate the progress of their professional, social, and personal competences. This raises a research question: what is the correlation between professional burnout in social workers and their professional development, and what are the ways of overcoming the professional burnout?

The aim of the study is to theoretically analyse and empirically uncover the correlation between social worker qualification development and professional burnout, also identify the ways of coping with professional burnout.

Research objectives: 1) to analyse the factors that foster the professional burnout in social workers and the ways of coping with it, with reference on the professional development and the possibilities of overcoming professional burnout; 2) to study the attitudes of social workers towards the correlation between professional development and professional burnout and the ways and the means of coping with it.

Research methods: analysis of scientific literature, semi-structured interviews.

Research methodology. The interview questions have been grouped into 6 meaningful blocks related professional burnout: causes, manifestations and characteristics, development context, coping methods and tools, links to qualification development, outcomes of the applied coping methods. For the analysis and presentation of the study outcomes, a descriptive type of research has been chosen. It is based on grounded theory and provides a more detailed picture of the issue under study. The study was conducted in June and July 2022. A targeted, criterion-based sampling of respondents was used, with focus on social workers who have experienced the burnout. The respondents included 7 social workers and 3 assistant social workers, with an average age of 51 years and an average professional experience of 26 years. Interview duration was up to 50 minutes.

Key results and conclusions. The study has revealed that the burnout in social workers is caused by organisational (work pressure, conflicts with colleagues, work organisation, workload, remuneration, etc.) and individual (personal qualities, overcommitment, incompatibility between a person and his/her work environment, etc.) reasons. The manifestations and symptoms of the burnout describe social workers' state of mind (feelings of hopelessness, mental and physical health problems, insomnia, etc.), emotions (anger, frustration with clients, lack of control over personal emotions, etc.), and problems (lack of empathy, lack of energy, frustration with work, etc.). The developmental context of the burnout highlights the social work environment and the underlying problems with the target client group (elderly, disabled, addicted, aggressive, etc.). The social work contexts are identified in which the causes of the burnout syndrome develop. They show the dependence on the age of a client and his/her behaviour, the expression of a disability or illness, the empowerment of a client, etc. The study has highlighted the various ways used to cope with professional burnout: realistic assessment of one's own abilities and performance, talking about one's own problems, peer-to-peer interactions and feedback among colleagues, communication with other professionals, improvement of one's professional and personal competences, the importance of having a rest periods, etc. Participation in professional development events has been found to be an effective way of coping with the burnout. This suggests that there is a correlation between professional burnout and professional development for these professionals. The study has confirmed that a well-tailored approach to coping with the burnout helps to gain experience, develop psychological resilience, and not only overcome but also prevent burnout.