Implications Of Burnout For Mental Health Nurses And How It Can Be Avoided Research Paper 2022

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Implications Of Burnout For Mental Health Nurses And How It Can Be Avoided
Introduction
Job burnout describes negative work-associated attitudes that are often characterized by feelings
of emotional exhaustion with work, depersonalization and minimal individual attainments (Paris,
& Hoge, 2010). Burnout is a major public health problem experienced by mental health nurses at
a prevalence of 67% (Morse, Salyers, Rollins, Monroe-DeVita, & Pfahler, 2012). The nursing
profession is stressful and continues to change more often. Sjølie, Binder, and Dundas (2017)
observed that mental health workers are constantly exposed to intense emotional torture, suicidal
thoughts, and the distressing behaviours of mental health patients. Despite the difficulty
associated with the provision of mental health services, the sector is more often affected by
financial constraints thus causing job uncertainty and understaffing (Honberg, Kimball, Diehl,
Usher, & Fitzpatrick, 2011). Notwithstanding these setbacks, the healthcare providers are still
expected to ensure customer safety and that their decision making does not interfere with
emotional state. Burnout in the nursing profession has also been attributed to the dynamic needs
of the patients which makes it difficult for nurses to cope. Owing to the magnitude of burnout in
the health profession, multiple intervention strategies have been proposed to help monitor the
case. Despite the existence of strategies to address the issue, there is still a high prevalence of
burnout among mental health workers. This paper purposes to assess the implications of burnout
for mental health nurses and potential interventions to reduce it. A critical review of relevant and
current literature will be carried out to achieve the objective of the study.
Theoretical perspectives
The theoretical framework for this paper was obtained from the jobs demand-resources model
and the Maslach theory of burnout.

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The Job Demands-Resources model (The JD-R Model)
This model was established in 2006 by Arnold and Evangelia to modify the existing models on
the same subject. The JD-R model is made up of two sections: the job demands and job
resources. Job demands are the mental, physical, and social characteristics of the work such as
workload, job insecurity, work conflicts and work pressures. Job resources include physical or
social structures of the institution that are established to help the staff to be effective in their
work. Examples of job resources include good leadership, work safety, management, working
tools and good interactions between employees. According to the JD-R model, high job
demands and low job resources leads to stress and burnout among staff. On the other hand, high
job resources and low job demands lead to positive outcomes such as engaged and motivated
employees at the workplace (Schaufeli & Taris, 2014).
The model emphasizes the significance of striking a balance between job demands and job
resources. These two factors are dependent on each other to establish a successful work-place.
Job resources can mitigate the adverse effect of job strains such as effective supervision,
management and association with a supervisor can aid in leveraging job strain due to insecurity
and workload. Additionally, when the staff feel they are listened to, appreciated, rewarded for
outstanding performance, and given positive feedback, their wellbeing will also be positively
influenced (Schaufeli & Taris, 2014).
The Maslach theory of burnout.
The first research by Maslach was aimed at assessing emotions which later culminated to
occupational burnout. The initial studies on burnout emphasized on caregiving jobs in which
there was a relationship between the provider and recipient of care. Further research was

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broadened to factor in other occupations apart from human service (Vassar, Worley, & Barnes,
2011). Maslach observes that burnout is due to a disparity between the individual assigned to the
work and the demands of the work. Burnout can only be avoided when there is a match between
the employee undertaking the work and the demands of the work.
The theory suggests that burnout is made up of three aspects which include emotional
exhaustion, depersonalization and inefficacy (Wheeler et al, 2011). The most notable among the
three aspects is emotional exhaustion because the majority of employees undergoing burnout
easily cite exhaustion. Observable symptoms of emotional stress include moodiness, anxiety,
frustration which is likely to make an individual unable to manage emotional and physical
dimensions of work. Depersonalization creates a barrier between colleagues and disinterest at
work which is also accompanied by undesirable feelings. Such scenarios usually take place once
staff is not able to keep up with job demands resulting in detachment from the work. Emotional
exhaustion more often influences depersonalization and cynicism, and can also result in job
dissatisfaction. Employees can be perceived as objects instead of human beings. At this stage, an
employee feels worthless and incompetent after self-assessment based on job performance.
Individual attainments reduce after self-evaluation. The theory also demonstrates that burnout
has negative impacts including turnover, job performance and adverse effect on other staff which
lead to conflict. Continuous work regardless of burnout has been found to lead to poor job
performance (Wheeler et al, 2011).
Prevalence
Burnout among mental health nurses is a global public health problem with severe consequences.
(Morse et al., 2012) carried a literature review on burnout in mental health services and found