burnout

Psychological and occupational dynamics of burn-out

10 February 20246 January 2024 by Alessia Giannino

In order to determine the psychological, work and social dynamics of burn-out, it is necessary to highlight the multi-dimensionality of the phenomenon; in fact, there is no single cause but multiple causes that put a strain on an individual’s professional activity.

There are no ideal working conditions either at the organizational level or as freelancers; in fact, adaptability and flexibility are necessary in any situation. Job stress is often associated with staff turnover, low productivity, and increased staff demand. At the individual level, quality is greatly reduced due to physical and psychological strain. The stressed individual is placed in the area of psychosomatic risk, for example, the link between work stress, lack of control at work, and women’s risk of getting type 2 diabetes has been highlighted. In fact, stress can cause an individual to eat inappropriately, smoke more, and be irritable at work. In addition, work stress implies a distortion of communicative and relational effectiveness.

Empathy toward patients and listening and understanding skills are important for health care workers. One can guess, therefore, the sensitivity of the problem and the need to understand its causes. Some structures may create more tension, while others may provide more stimulation and offer the possibility of greater personal involvement. The analysis of the causes of burn-out cannot be separated from the historical context in which we live; in fact, today it is increasingly difficult to work calmly, without stress. At the corporate level, the organizational structure, general setup and levels of responsibility need to be studied. Some of the personality characteristics and predisposing factors for burn-out are:

Excessive dedication to work
Perfectionism
Authoritarianism
Excessive ambition and strong need to succeed
Anxious personality
Impulsivity
Dependence on others
Competitiveness
Feelings of insufficiency and inability
Low self-esteem
Tendency to pessimism

Personality characteristics represent a grouping of functional modes that condition the individual’s interactivity. Confidence, self-mastery and optimism seem to be the determining factors in expanding one’s intellectual, physical and social resources.

Source: I don’t have time for… How it wears out care: health workers under stress by Ferdinando Pellegrino

Psychosocial risk: burn-out as an occupational disease

10 February 20246 January 2024 by Alessia Giannino

In recent years in Italy there has been a profound cultural revolution that, has enabled the understanding of the main European guidelines on the subject of worker protection. The National Health Plan 2006-2008 recognized some diseases resulting from psychosocial risks related to work organization. All this is taken up in Article 28, where it is indicated that the subject of risk assessment must also include those related to work stress. This fits into the context of a person’s life as one of the mismanaged work issues where elements of organizational constrictiveness or dysfunction in work organization prevail.

Such surveys aim to delineate the psychosocial risk present in a given work environment. It is not easy to identify stress, nor to establish the validity of the tools and methodologies adopted for this purpose, but it is possible to establish strategies that proceed gradually until the individual is analyzed. In group 7 of mental and psychosomatic illnesses, the disorders identified as occupational diseases are chronic adjustment disorder and chronic post-traumatic stress disorder. anxiety and depression represent the main work-related stress mental disorders and give rise to highly variable clinical pictures of predominantly somatic expression, such as gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, headache and other somatizations.

Source: I don’t have time for… How it wears out care: health workers under stress by Ferdinando Pellegrino

7 February 20246 January 2024 by Cristina Martinucci

There is a lot of talk about burnout, a highly topical phenomenon in the world of work, in companies, but also in other contexts.
The term “burnout” originated in the 1940s in aeronautical engineering, then since the 1970s has been used in psychiatry.
Burnout is not a disease, but a syndrome characterized by extreme fatigue, loss of interest, cynical attitude, decreased performance, and prolongation and chronification of a state of excessive stress.
Which people are at risk? Why are some people affected more than others?Some people are more vulnerable than others for personal reasons, because they are too demanding or too perfectionist, because they have low self-esteem or live in excessive competitiveness. Personalities therefore who have too much control, high professional expectations, and who, when subjected to environmental situations, such as the demand to produce more, become overwhelmed. They cannot say no, have migraines due to the load of thinking, have negative competitiveness, while they should review the management of their priorities.

The clinical picture of burnout, manifests itself at four levels
1. Significant stress: Physical and emotional exhaustion. Depersonalization, cynicism, and indifference. Dead-end feeling and self-loathing.
2. Affective symptoms:depression. Emotional literacy I don’t understand what anxiety means-
3. Cognitive symptoms:Feeling of failure. Loss of trust, guilt.
4. Physical symptoms:Headache, nausea, sleep disturbance. Chronic pain.

It is important, however, by going through a diagnosis, medical history, analysis, and clinical examination, to rule out all somatic causes before arriving at the point of talking about burnout syndrome.

Since this is a common issue that affects employers and employees, it would be helpful to understand what the risk factors are for specific workers so that a prevention system can be set up and the burnout patient does not feel guilty.
In fact, the affected person will experience very difficult times getting back into shape. But even when he returns to work, he will have to integrate again. He will have to deal with the awkwardness of colleagues and the prejudices of management. Because often, in such a situation, there is a lack of communication/information and support from the relevant people or bodies.
The burnout incident can happen to anyone, but it is possible to return to normal life and work with momentum and satisfaction.
The person who has gone through this experience will tend to protect themselves, inevitably focus, remain attentive to themselves, their body’s messages, and pay attention to their emotions (sadness, anger, fear, shame, etc.). She will also see them as important messages, learn to accept them, let them come, but at the same time manage them so that she is not completely invaded or driven by them.
We live in a world that is hyper-connected, we are hyper-stressed, sometimes we live at 100 per hour, never taking breaks, never recharging our batteries. We operate in automatic mode as if we were robots (non-stop).
It is up to us to interrupt this process and let go of what is too much for us. We cannot do everything perfectly!
It is very important to create a vacuum. Downloading the cortex is crucial. Being anchored in the present here and now will give intensity to your daily life.
Let’s pay attention to the words that put us under stress: must, should have, should have been…..
There is a need for a change of perspective, even in language !
In hindsight, letting go, balancing, and working on yourself through attentive and professional help allows us to find ourselves and live life with pleasure.