Professional Psychology: Research and Practice © 2015 American Psychological Association

2015, Vol. 46, No. 3, 168 –174 0735-7028/15/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039297

Preventing Burnout: What Does the Research Tell Us?

Patricia A. Rupert, Alisha O. Miller, and Katherine E. Dorociak
Loyola University of Chicago

Practicing psychologists face many demands that place them at risk for professional burnout. This article
provides empirically supported recommendations for reducing or preventing burnout. Drawing from
theoretical models of burnout, 4 critical questions are identified: What job demands increase risk for
burnout? What job resources decrease risk for burnout? What personal resources decrease risk for
burnout? How does home life influence risk for burnout? Findings from empirical studies with psychol-
ogists related to each question are summarized and are integrated with conceptual literatures to develop
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

specific recommendations. Consistent with the positive psychology movement and with recent concep-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

tual shifts in the burnout literature, these recommendations encourage a positive, proactive approach that
strives to maximize a fit between work demands and personal strengths, to develop resources at work and
at home, and to establish a balance between work and personal lives.

Keywords: burnout, occupational stress, prevention, professional psychologists

In the course of their professional lives, practicing psychologists As defined and measured by Maslach and Jackson (1981),
face a myriad of challenging and potentially stressful demands burnout is a syndrome characterized by three dimensions: emo-
associated with providing psychological services. In this regard, tional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization of clients (DP), and a
research examining the stresses of psychotherapeutic work has reduced sense of personal accomplishment (PA). The Maslach
identified a wide range of frequently reported stresses. Many of Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Jackson, 1996), the “gold stan-
these stresses are inherent to the provision of psychotherapy: for dard” measure of burnout that is used in nearly all research, yields
example, feeling responsible for the lives of others, maintaining a separate score for each of these three dimensions. Although
constructive relationships with clients, dealing with problems and burnout is typically described as a syndrome, there are no clear
emotional concerns, and managing challenging or difficult clients criteria or cut-off scores for classifying an individual as suffering
(e.g., Deutsch, 1984; Farber & Heifetz, 1981; Hellman & Morri- from “burnout.” Burnout is thus studied as a continuous phenom-
son, 1987; Stevanovic & Rupert, 2004). Others relate to organi- enon with three separate but related dimensions. From a practical
zational or contextual factors such as completing excessive paper- standpoint, preventing burnout is a complex process that requires
work, dealing with organizational politics or conflicts, and attention to lowering emotional exhaustion and depersonalization
working within external constraints on services (e.g., Farber & of clients as well as maintaining a sense of personal accomplish-
Heifetz, 1981; Rupert & Baird, 2004; Stevanovic & Rupert, 2004). ment.
While these stresses represent unavoidable occupational hazards, Understanding and preventing burnout is of concern for several
chronic stress leads to distress that, if not addressed, may lead to reasons. First, burnout negatively impacts quality of life. It is
burnout (e.g., Barnett, Baker, Elman, & Schoener, 2007; Maslach, personally distressing (Freudenberger, 1975) and has been linked
Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001). to many stress-related physical and mental health outcomes
(Maslach et al., 2001). Second, burnout may negatively impact the
quality of work and thus the services we provide to our clients. In
This article was published Online First May 25, 2015. his original description of burnout, Freudenberger (1975) dis-
PATRICIA A. RUPERT received her PhD in clinical psychology from the
cussed the loss of motivation and commitment that characterizes
University of Kansas and is currently an associate professor of psychology
the “burned out” professional. Further, the depersonalization com-
at Loyola University of Chicago. Her research interests include profes-
sional ethics, burnout, work–family balance, and self-care. ponent of burnout described by Maslach and Jackson (1981)
ALISHA O. MILLER received her MA in clinical psychology from Loyola involves an emotional distancing, in essence, a type of disengage-
University of Chicago and is currently a doctoral candidate at Loyola. Her ment from clients. Although empirical evidence of the direct
areas of professional interest include burnout among mental health profes- impact of burnout on the quality of professional services is lacking,
sionals and work–family balance. research has found that increased levels of burnout are associated
KATHERINE E. DOROCIAK received her BS in Science Pre-Professional with intentions or desire to leave one’s position (e.g., Huebner,
Studies from the University of Notre Dame and is currently a doctoral 1992; Lee & Ashforth, 1996; Raquepaw & Miller, 1989). These
student in clinical psychology at Loyola University of Chicago. Her areas
negative attitudes combined with depleted emotional resources
of professional interest include self-care, work–family balance, and issues
may lead to impaired professional functioning (e.g., Maslach et al.,
faced by psychologists over the professional lifespan.
CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS ARTICLE should be addressed to 2001). Finally, the potential for impaired professional functioning
Patricia A. Rupert, Department of Psychology, Loyola University of Chi- and reduced competence raises ethical concerns. Standard 2 (Com-
cago, 1032 West Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60660. E-mail: prupert@ petence) of the American Psychological Association (APA) Ethics
luc.edu Code (APA, 2002) requires that psychologists practice within the
168
 PREVENTING BURNOUT 169

boundaries of their competence (2.01) and that they engage in vide general frameworks for understanding burnout, specific pre-
ongoing efforts to develop and maintain competence (2.03). It also dictors of burnout for psychologists may not adequately be cap-
cautions psychologists to be aware of personal problems that may tured in studies of individuals from different occupational and
negatively impact competence and to take appropriate action educational backgrounds. Drawing from these theoretical models,
(2.06). Thus, preventing burnout has important personal, profes- we thus examined research focused specifically on psychologists
sional, and ethical implications. with four questions in mind: What job demands increase risk for
In the general occupational health literature, numerous theoret- burnout? What job resources decrease risk for burnout? What
ical models have been offered to explain the development of personal resources decrease risk for burnout? How does home life
burnout. Although job demands play a central role in all models, influence risk for burnout? In addressing these questions, our goal
these models have increasingly emphasized the importance of was not to provide a comprehensive review and critique of the
resources for preventing or reducing levels of burnout. For exam- research on burnout among psychologists. Rather, our goal was to
ple, the Job Demands–Control Model (Karasek, 1979), the earliest identify consistent findings related to each question and to use
model of burnout, posits that burnout results when job demands are these findings to formulate recommendations for preventing burn-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

high and job control or autonomy is low. Building on this model, out that might benefit practicing psychologists.
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two subsequent models have expanded on the workplace resources We followed three general criteria for identifying relevant stud-
that may serve to reduce burnout. The Job Demands–Control– ies. First, we searched for empirical studies on the topic of burnout
Support Model (Johnson & Hall, 1988) includes workplace social that were either conducted exclusively with psychologists or in-
support as an additional resource that may interact with demands cluded psychologists as a significant portion of their sample.
and control. And finally, the more recent Job Demand–Resources Second, we identified studies that used the Maslach Burnout
Model (Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, & Schaufeli, 2001) rec- Inventory as the measure of burnout. Finally, we further identified
ognizes that multiple other resources (e.g., opportunities for pro- studies that examined specific demands and resources as anteced-
fessional development, supervision, feedback) may play a role in ents of each of the three burnout dimensions and provided data
reducing burnout, either by directly influencing motivation or relevant to a least one of our four questions derived from the
engagement in work or by buffering the impact of job demands. theoretical models. We found 18 studies that met these general
Attention has also been given to the Conservation of Resources criteria; five were large-scale national surveys of doctoral level or
Model of Stress (Hobfoll, 1989; Hobfoll & Freedy, 1993) as it licensed clinical/counseling psychologists employed in a range of
might apply to burnout. The COR model proposes that individuals clinical settings (Ackerley, Burnell, Holder, & Kurdek, 1988;
seek to acquire and maintain resources. When resources are threat- Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert, Ste-
ened, when they are lost, or when attempts to acquire resources do vanovic, & Hunley, 2009; Vredenburgh, Carlozzi, & Stein, 1999);
not yield expected gains, stress and perhaps burnout results. Re- one was a smaller national survey of masters- and Ph.D.-level
sources are defined broadly as “objects, personal characteristics, clinical psychologists in Australia (Emery, Wade, & McLean,
conditions, or energies that are valued by the individual or that 2009); one was a survey of clinical/counseling psychologists in
serve as a means for attainment of these objects, personal charac- one state (Skorupa & Agresti, 1993); one was a national survey of
teristics, conditions, or energies” (Hobfoll, 1989, p. 516). From doctoral-level psychologists employed exclusively in college
this perspective, to gain a comprehensive understanding of the counseling centers (Ross, Altmaier, & Russell, 1989); three were
factors influencing burnout, it is necessary to look beyond the national surveys of school psychologists (Huberty & Huebner,
workplace to examine resources within the individual and in other 1988; Huebner, 1992; Huebner, 1994); four were surveys that
life domains that are available to help meet the demands of work included psychologists as well as other mental health professionals
life. (Ballenger-Browning et al., 2011; Ben-Zur & Michael, 2007;
Although a review of research related to each model is beyond Raquepaw & Miller, 1989; Rosenberg & Pace, 2006; Thornton,
the scope of this article, it is important to note that these models 1992); and two were meta-analyses examining factors related to
have received considerable attention and generated a substantial burnout among psychotherapists (Lee, Lim, Yang, & Lee, 2011;
body of research in the general occupational health literature. Lim, Kim, Kim, Yang, & Lee, 2010).
Research across a range of occupations has provided support for
various aspects of these models and, most importantly, has yielded
What Work Demands Increase the Risk of Burnout?
insight into common factors that predict burnout. For example, as
discussed by Maslach et al. (2001), job demands such as heavy Because burnout is a work-related phenomenon, much of the
workload and role conflict or ambiguity have been consistently research has focused on identifying job demands/stresses that
linked to increased emotional exhaustion whereas job resources predict burnout. In this regard, number of hours worked, hours
such as control and support have been associated with lower levels spent in specific types of work activities, caseload, and type of
of emotional exhaustion. Although less attention has been given to client have received the most consistent attention.
personal characteristics and non–job-related resources, age has In general, research indicates that the total number of hours
been consistently linked to burnout, with younger employees re- worked is positively related to burnout; that is, psychologists who
porting more burnout than older. In addition, there is some evi- work more hours are more likely to experience both more emo-
dence that coping style may relate to burnout, with more active tional exhaustion (Ballenger-Browning et al., 2011; Rosenberg &
coping being associated with less burnout (Maslach et al., 2001). Pace, 2006; Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert
Given the nature of their work, psychologists face emotional et al., 2009) and depersonalization of clients (Rosenberg & Pace,
demands that may challenge and draw on resources in unique 2006; Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert et al., 2009). Further, how one
ways. Consequently, although theoretical models of burnout pro- spends work hours makes a difference. Although the data are very
 170 RUPERT, MILLER, AND DOROCIAK

limited, studies that have examined specific work activities have analysis (Lee et al., 2011), have demonstrated a significant rela-
consistently found that administrative/paperwork hours relate to tionship between control and all three dimensions of burnout;
greater levels of emotional exhaustion and lower levels of personal individuals who report more control at work report less emotional
accomplishment (e.g., Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, exhaustion, less depersonalization of clients, and a greater sense of
2005; Rupert et al., 2009). Given the emotional demands of psy- personal accomplishment. One might ask, however, what do we
chotherapeutic work, one might also expect that number of psy- mean by control? Control over work schedule? Control over ac-
chotherapy hours or size of caseload would be associated with tivities at work? Control over treatment or case management
burnout; however, this does not seem to be the case. In fact, some issues? Unfortunately, the most frequently used measure of control
studies have found that more psychotherapy/intervention hours or has been a brief scale that includes items representing all these
a larger caseload are associated with higher levels of personal aspects of control (Ackerley et al., 1988; Rupert & Kent, 2007;
accomplishment (Ackerley et al., 1988; Huberty & Huebner, 1988; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert et al., 2009). There are many
Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert et al., 2009; ways in which one might experience control at work, and the type
Skorupa & Agresti, 1993; Vredenburgh et al., 1999). and degree of control possible may depend in part on the nature of
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

Although time spent conducting psychotherapy may have the the work setting and the background/experience of the psycholo-
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

potential to build a sense of personal accomplishment, research gist. Nonetheless, the consistency with which control emerges as a
also suggests the potential for negative effects depending on the significant correlate of all components of burnout underscores its
type of clients and on the psychologist. In terms of types of clients, value as a resource that may reduce risk for burnout.
one study found that having a greater percentage of patients with The resource of workplace support has also been examined in
personality disorder diagnoses was linked to higher depersonaliza- multiple studies. These studies have, however, taken different
tion (Ballenger-Browning et al., 2011), whereas another found that approaches to assessing support. Some have simply considered
working with clients who exhibit negative or stressful behaviors support as a general uni-dimensional construct, others have exam-
was also associated with more depersonalization. Multiple studies ined supervisor and coworker support separately, and one study
using similar measures of negative client behaviors (Ackerley et assessed only support from coworkers. Given these different ap-
al., 1988; Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert proaches, findings regarding workplace support are complex and
et al., 2009) have found that dealing with such negative client not nearly as consistent as those for control.
behaviors was associated with both emotional exhaustion and Two national surveys of doctoral level psychologists assessing
depersonalization. In these studies, negative or stressful client workplace support as a uni-dimensional construct found that per-
behaviors included aggressive or threatening behaviors, suicidal ceptions of support were positively related to personal accomplish-
threats or gestures, limit testing, and psychotic behaviors. Dealing ment (Ackerley et al., 1988; Rupert & Kent, 2007). One of these
with such behaviors may require more time and emotional energy studies also found that it was negatively related to emotional
and thus increase risk for burnout. exhaustion (Ackerley et al., 1988), but the other (Rupert & Kent,
Research findings also suggest that psychologists’ response to, 2007) found no relationship. Neither found a relationship between
or way of managing work demands, may play an important role in support and depersonalization. Two studies differentiating be-
the risk for burnout. Specifically, those who are dissatisfied or tween supervisor and coworker support found that supervisor
unhappy with their caseload report greater emotional exhaustion support was negatively related to emotional exhaustion and dep-
and depersonalization of clients (Huebner, 1992; Raquepaw & ersonalization and positively related to personal accomplishment
Miller, 1989). Further, psychologists who tend to be overinvolved (Huebner, 1994; Ross, Altmaier, & Russell, 1989). Their findings
with clients (e.g., feel responsible for, think about often, frequently regarding coworker support were less consistent, however, with
talk on the phone with clients) also report greater emotional one study finding no significant relationship between coworker
exhaustion and depersonalization of clients (Ackerley et al., 1988; support and dimensions of burnout (Ross et al., 1989) and the other
Lee et al., 2011; Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; finding that it related positively to personal accomplishment
Rupert et al., 2009). The relationship of overinvolvement to burn- (Huebner, 1994). Finally, the one study examining only coworker
out, however, appears to be complex in that two studies found it to support found that it was related to all three burnout dimensions,
be associated with a greater sense of personal accomplishment negatively to emotional exhaustion and depersonalization and pos-
(Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert & Kent, 2007). Thus, some level itively to personal accomplishment (Ben-Zur & Michael, 2007).
of “involvement” with clients may help build a sense of personal Not only may support come from different sources at work, but
accomplishment; however, becoming increasingly involved with the importance of support and the availability of support may
clients requires time and emotional energy that can put one at risk depend on work setting and the experience and degree level of the
for experiencing the negative components of burnout. In fact, the psychologist. On the whole, however, the research results suggest
recent meta-analysis by Lee at al. (2011) found that the overin- that workplace support is a significant resource. The most consis-
volvement had the strongest positive relationship to emotional tent finding in this regard seems to be a relationship between
exhaustion among all the antecedents they examined. workplace support and personal accomplishment; in fact, this was
the only relationship with support that emerged as significant in
the meta-analysis of Lee et al. (2011). Thus, workplace support
What Job Resources Help Reduce Risk for Burnout?
may play an especially important role in helping to build a sense
Consistent with the evolution of theoretical models of burnout, of personal accomplishment.
the resource of control at work has received considerable attention. Finally, although the Job Demands-Resources Model recognizes
Numerous studies (Ackerley et al., 1988; Rupert & Kent, 2007; that a wide range of workplace resources may help reduce burnout,
Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert et al., 2009), including a meta- research with psychologists has not examined the relationship
 PREVENTING BURNOUT 171

between burnout and other workplace resources such as continuing control, reflect on satisfying experiences of work, maintain a
education opportunities, feedback, and so forth. Thus, beyond balance between personal and professional lives, and maintain
control and support, research can offer no guidance regarding other self-awareness/self-monitoring. Further, four specific cognitive
workplace resources that might reduce risk for burnout. strategies were related to less depersonalization of clients:
maintain a sense of control, reflect on satisfying experiences of
work, maintain professional identity/values, and maintain self-
What Personal Resources Reduce Risk for Burnout?
awareness/self-monitoring. In general, it appeared that having
According to the Conservation of Resources Model of Stress, cognitive strategies for keeping a perspective on one’s work
personal characteristics represent important resources that aid in was important for reducing both emotional exhaustion and
meeting demands and securing additional resources. The profes- depersonalization and additionally, that maintaining work/life
sional literature on burnout prevention and professional compe- balance may be valuable for reducing emotional exhaustion.
tence emphasizes the development of personal coping and self- Many strategies (15 out of 25) were related to personal accom-
care strategies (e.g., Barnett et al., 2007; Mahoney, 1997; Norcross plishment, suggesting that career-sustaining or self-care behav-
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

& Guy, 2007). Research on burnout, however, has given very iors may play an important role in fostering a positive attitude
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

limited attention to the personal resources psychologists bring to toward work.

their work. To date, the most frequently studied personal charac- Overall, burnout research has paid much more attention to job
teristic has been age. In this regard, studies provide consistent characteristics than it has to personal resources. Nonetheless, these
evidence that increased age is related to less emotional exhaustion few studies suggest that personal resources are linked to burnout.
and depersonalization of clients (Ackerley et al., 1988; Lim et al., From a prevention standpoint, cognitive strategies for coping with
2010; Rupert & Kent, 2007; Rupert & Morgan, 2005; Rupert et al., the demands of psychological work and self-care activities appear
2009), and some support for a relationship between age and a to be valuable resources that require further attention in the burn-
greater sense of personal accomplishment (Lim et al., 2010; Rupert out research.
& Kent, 2007; Rupert et al., 2009). Increased age may bring
maturity, experience, and increased personal resources that help
How Does Home Life Influence Risk for Burnout?
individuals cope more effectively with the demands of their work
and build their sense of accomplishment. The Conservation of Resources Model suggests that personal
Using a comprehensive measure of personal resources, one and home life may influence functioning at work. Consistent
study (Emery et al., 2009) found that personal resources were with this notion, isolated findings from the previously men-
predictive of burnout, with more personal resources predicting less tioned research on personal resources suggest that recreational
emotional exhaustion and greater personal accomplishment. As activities, work–life balance, and social support are linked to
measured in this study, personal resources included recreational burnout at work. In addition, the self-care literature emphasizes
activities, self-care activities, social support, and cognitive coping the importance of work-life balance, both for personal and
skills. Thus, this study provides evidence that a broad range of professional well-being (e.g., Mahoney, 1997; Norcross & Guy,
personal resources may help reduce risk for burnout. 2007).
A limited number of additional studies have examined specific Despite increasing attention to the relationship of work and
coping strategies and self-care activities. Two studies offer data family/home life, almost no research has directly focused on
linking ways of coping with the demands of psychological work to work-family issues as they relate to burnout among psycholo-
burnout (Ben-Zur & Michael, 2007; Thornton, 1992). The results gists. One study (Rupert et al., 2009), however, found that
of both suggest that use of escape-avoidance or emotion-focused work–family conflict is associated with increased emotional
coping is related to higher levels of burnout. Thornton (1992) exhaustion and depersonalization as well as a lowered sense of
found that escape-avoidance coping (e.g., wishing the situation personal accomplishment. Work–family conflict, a construct
would go away; sleeping more; use of substances or medication) that has received much attention in the organizational and
was related to higher levels of emotional exhaustion and deper- occupational health literatures, is bidirectional; the demands of
sonalization and lower personal accomplishment. Similarly, Ben- work may interfere with family life and the demands of family
Zur and Michael (2007) found emotion-focused strategies (e.g., may interfere with work life (Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992).
denial, venting, alcohol use, acceptance) related to higher deper- The findings of Rupert et al. (2009) suggest that conflict in
sonalization and lower personal accomplishment. In terms of more either direction creates stress that negatively impacts the work
active or problem-focused coping, the results are mixed. Although life of psychologists. Further, this same study also found that
Thornton (1992) found no relationship of more active strategies to family support, a home life resource, was related to less emo-
burnout, Ben-Zur and Michael (2007) found that the use of tional exhaustion at work. These authors concluded that the
problem-focused coping strategies (e.g., planning, positive reinter- “family appears to be an important source of resources that
pretation, seeking support) related to lower depersonalization and must be considered, along with work resources and demands, in
higher personal accomplishment. understanding burnout” (p. 59).
Taking a self-care oriented approach, Rupert and Kent (2007)
found that career-sustaining behaviors (that is, cognitive strat-
Conclusions
egies or behaviors that contribute to effective functioning and
professional satisfaction) were related to burnout. Specifically, Our overview of the research examining predictors of burn-
psychologists who rated the following strategies as highly im- out among psychologists reveals several limitations that should
portant reported less emotional exhaustion: maintain a sense of be acknowledged. First, all studies are cross-sectional and cor-
 172 RUPERT, MILLER, AND DOROCIAK

relational in nature and cannot reveal causal relationships. maximize a “fit” with one’s interests, strengths, work-
Thus, while we discuss demands and resources as predictors load capacity, and limits or vulnerabilities.
based on our conceptual models, it is important to keep in mind
that there is a need for longitudinal research to provide empir- 3. Paying attention to building and using resources at
ical evidence supporting these causal models. Second, even work is important for reducing risk of burnout. For
though we focused on burnout among psychologists, the studies psychologists, having a sense of control at work seems
we reviewed varied considerably in terms of the “types” of especially important. In the context of our other pre-
psychologists and the number of psychologists in their samples. vious conclusions, we speculate that control may allow
Psychologists are, in fact, a diverse group; they work in many one to structure work life so that demands do not
different types of settings, engage in many different types of become unmanageable and lead to exhaustion, or on
activities, and come from varying educational backgrounds. It is the positive side, control may allow one to use
thus difficult to draw conclusions relevant for all “psycholo- strengths to meet demands and build a sense of per-
gists,” and more research that looks specifically at the unique sonal accomplishment. Research also suggests that
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.

issues and challenges faced by diverse groups of psychologists support at work is important, particularly for building
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.

is needed. Finally, research has tended to focus on specific a sense of personal accomplishment. Given the diver-
demands or resources in the absence of a theoretical framework. sity of psychologists and their work settings, however,
As a result, the research yields a very limited picture of isolated we must recognize that the availability and need for
predictors of burnout and further research is needed to examine resources may vary across situations and individuals.
a broader range of demands and resources and to understand Thus, the key recommendation may be that it is im-
how they interact to predict burnout. portant to assess one’s need for resources, to be aware
Despite these limitations, our overview reveals some consistent of the availability of resources, and to use them effec-
research findings. These findings can thus be integrated with tively.
conceptual models of burnout and recommendations in the profes-
sional literature to offer some “empirically supported” guidance 4. Personal resources are also important for reducing risk
for practicing psychologists. Specifically: of burnout. We must add a note of caution here by
emphasizing that the research on personal resources is
1. Work demands such as working long hours, seeing dif- very limited. The findings are, however, consistent
ficult clients, and doing administrative/paperwork tasks with many recommendations from the self-care liter-
may place psychologists at risk for experiencing emo- ature in indicating the importance of self-awareness
tional exhaustion and depersonalization, the two key and self-monitoring, of having active cognitive strat-
components of burnout. However, it is also important to egies for gaining a constructive perspective on one’s
note that there is a positive side to work demands in that work, of setting appropriate boundaries, and of having
they provide opportunities for building a sense of per- activities and interests outside of work.
sonal accomplishment. Of the demands examined in re-
search with psychologists, hours spent conducting psy- 5. Finally, maintaining work/life balance is important.
chotherapy appears to be a work demand with such Although this is increasingly emphasized in the pro-
potential. On the other hand, time spent doing admin- fessional literature as being important for general
istrative/paperwork tasks appears to lack this positive well-being, there is some limited research evidence
potential in that it was consistently associated with that it also benefits one’s functioning at work. Specif-
reduced personal accomplishment. Thus, it may be ically, minimizing conflict between the demands of
important to monitor work demands not only to pre- work life and the demands of family life (e.g., house-
vent being overwhelmed, but also to ensure some work, child or elder care) plus cultivating resources
involvement with work activities that can build a pos- outside of work such as a supportive family/friends
itive sense of accomplishment. and outside interests may help reduce risk for burnout.

2. The individual psychologist’s response to work de- Consistent with the positive psychology movement, recent con-
mands may be critical in predicting burnout. In fact, ceptual writings and research on burnout have moved from a
recent work on burnout has emphasized the impor- primarily negative focus on demands, stress, and dealing with
tance of “job–person fit” in understanding burnout burnout as a negative psychological state to a more positive focus
(e.g., Maslach, 2003; Maslach et al., 2001). This per- on building job engagement and positive attitudes and emotions
spective suggests that burnout can best be understood toward work (e.g., Maslach et al., 2001; Schaufeli, Leiter, &
as a mismatch between job demands and the person. Maslach, 2009). This positive focus represents a primary preven-
Research findings that psychologists who are dissatis- tion approach that encourages an emphasis on resources. Although
fied with their caseloads or who become overinvolved burnout research with psychologists is limited, it provides support
with clients are more likely to experience emotional for the importance of both work and personal life resources.
exhaustion and depersonalization seem consistent with Drawing from this research, our recommendations encourage tak-
this notion. Thus, it may be important to strive to know ing a proactive approach and striving to maximize a fit between
one’s self and attempt to adjust work demands to work demands and personal strengths, to develop resources at
 PREVENTING BURNOUT 173

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