Freudenberger chose the word Burnout to describe this syndrome to his Fellow New York Free Clinic for drug addicts, taking advantage of the use that it was also used to refer to the effects of chronic drug use, considered as such at the time.
This term was already used in sports jargon for people who did not get the desired results, despite much effort, and has also been used colloquially by lawyers who have expressed a loss of liability and clinical disinterest.
- Finally.
- After many definitions built in different areas of work during the last three decades.
- The problem can be defined as a continuous process that appears and gradually establishes itself to provoke the sensations of the syndrome.
In most cases, it will be the result of stressful events related to work, but also of employee human relationships: intense and/or sustainable customer service.
WHO defines burnout syndrome as a response to chronic emotional stress with three factors that affect it:
There are four plans where we can find its main manifestations
1. Emotionally feelings arise such as depression, despair, apathy, disappointment, pessimism, hostility, etc.
2. Regarding thinking (or cognitive), there is loss of values, disappearance of expectations, loss of self-esteem, loss of creativity, distraction or cynicism.
3. Behaviour includes a barrier to responsibility, increased absences from work, inappropriate behavior, excessive participation, obstruction of decision, increased consumption of caffeine, alcohol or tobacco and even self-botage.
4. Finally, muscle aches, loss of appetite, weight changes, sexual problems, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal disturbances and headaches appear in the psychosomatic sphere.
In the eyes of others, we find ourselves as a person in a state of permanent mood and very irritable with customers or companions, with a lack of motivation and energy, which results in a lower income that, in turn, affects the concept has of itself and the environment that surrounds him directly and indirectly.
It is known that professionals most likely to have this syndrome have tasks directly related to third parties, i. e. teachers, doctors, police, firefighters and customer service personnel.
But it’s not just people who work with third parties who are vulnerable. Recent studies have shown that the spectrum of professionals is opening up when it comes to linking stress at work with other factors, such as high-responsibility jobs, long working hours (between 10 and 16 hours) or repetitive, monotonous and boring jobs without motivation. Elements. .
Fortunately, there are techniques to psychologically help the individual and to structurally reorganize the company in its relationship with workers.
According to researchers from the University of Zaragoza and the Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences in Spain, three profiles are associated with this syndrome:
? Frantic: These workers feel overwhelmed, giving up their personal life and health to take care of work.
? No challenges: they feel indifferent to the tasks they have to perform, they are not motivated and they always have the change of work in mind, he is used to partnering with professionals involved in administrative or bureaucratic tasks.
Burnout Syndrome prevention is seen from two angles: the worker’s and the company’s.
The requirements that can be concluded in the light of the above are based on the respect of the worker concerned, it is important that the task is motivating, that it is not repetitive and that there is some recognition of the work. Given the impossibility of responding to these conditions on numerous occasions, there are strategies to prevent the syndrome. Experts recommend:
“Is pressure eliminated with mental gymnastics?”
? Leonard Zaichkowsky?
As the psychologist Javier Miralles summarizes, the key points to help you are:
We know that it is possible to prevent Burnout Syndrome, and if we are immersed in this situation, it is possible to regain the lost course.
“Serenity is not to be safe from the storm, but to find peace in the midst of it.
Thomas Kempis