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THE SUPERVISOR’S
GUIDE TO BURNOUT
Presented by: Judith GissyPCC, LICDC, NCAC II, SAP
“© 2016 Bethesda Healthcare, Inc. All rights reserved.
Copying or reproducing this document is strictly prohibited."
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TriHealth EAP is a part of the Corporate Health division of the TriHealth Healthcare
System. We provide:
• Assessment
• Referral
• Counseling
• Crisis Intervention
• Work/life services
• Management Consultation
• Workplace Training
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• To become completed depleted of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy
• Is caused by long-term involvement with emotionally demanding situations
• Is a combination of emotional exhaustion and a loss of personal accomplishment
WORKPLACE BURNOUT
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• Burnout is a process rather than a fixed condition.
• It starts gradually, becoming more intense and debilitating over time.
• It often affects the “best and the brightest” employees.
• Stress can play a role, but burnout is very different from feeling stressed
• Supervisors themselves can be very vulnerable to the effects of workplace burnout
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SIGNS OF BURNOUT
• Feeling constantly empty, hopeless, helpless, cynical, unnoticed and unrewarded.
• Losing the enthusiasm for the job, activities that were fun now feel like drudgery.
• Feeling so drained and depleted that the simplest problems are confounding
• Feeling negative about work and life in general
• Becoming easily angry & upset
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• Overly demanding
work expectations
• An emotionally demanding job
• Lack of recognition for good work
• A low feeling of accomplishment
• Little or no control over the job
• Inadequate job resources
• Feels unsupported by the Company
• Low levels of social support
• Strong rules regulating the expression of emotions
• Confusion regarding their job role
• A job with risk and safety factors
THE CAUSES OF BURNOUT
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• Taking care of both the employee’s needs and the company’s needs
• Inability to share what you’re experiencing with employees
• Less opportunities for open sharing with peers
• Dealing with downsizing & restructuring, being asked to “do more with less”
FOR SUPERVISORS
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CARETAKING
• The Supervisor over-gives so much to the job and to the client that he/she neglects their own needs.
• The boundaries between the Supervisor and the employee get blurred. The Helper experiences the same level of intensity over the problem as the employee
• The Supervisor takes on more responsibility for fixing the problem than the employee.
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HOW CAN EMPLOYEES &
SUPERVISORS PREVENT
BURNOUT ?
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AWARENESS
• Becoming alert to the signs of burnout, and intervene when we recognize them
• Becoming aware of our own personal issues
• Getting information on wellness through trainings, readings, and professional organizations
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STRESS
MANAGEMENT
• Create a calming and comfortable workspace
• Take all your breaks and lunchtimes, and go somewhere else for them.
• Learn to delegate, at work and at home.
• Try to leave work on time, no matter what occurs.
• Use humor to relieve tension and to reinforce that life isn’t serious all the time.
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MONITORING BOUNDARIES
• Boundaries define the work relationship.
• Healthy boundaries empower the customer, while also minimizing the impact of the client.
• Basic boundaries are set by the employee’s codes of ethics, and are utilized daily.
• However, all employees struggle with “case specific boundary issues” occasionally.
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• Schedules their employee’s needs around their own emotional well-being.
• Exhibits healthy emotional detachment, leaving the employee to own the problem.
• Places the responsibility for success and failure directly into the employee’s hands.
• Allows the employee to experience the consequences of their own actions.
THE SUPERVISOR:
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• A cultivated network of family, friendships, colleagues, acquaintances, and social activities
• It imparts the secure feeling that we belong to a community of people who value us.
• It helps us cope with the problems of daily life.
• Our supports act as listeners, mentors, debriefers, commisserators, cheerleaders, sounding boards, and advice-givers.
• The greater the daily challenges, the more important a support system becomes, to help us restore our stability.
USING A SUPPORT SYSTEM
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• Accepting that it’s normal to feel the way you feel, and practice the habit of releasing it on a regular basis
• Applies to day-to-day issues as well as major crises
• Ventilating can mean debriefing with friends, can journaling, music, or art.
• Counseling can also provide a helpful outlet.
VENTILATING FEELINGS
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SELF-CARE
• There are needs only we can fill in ourselves, such as self-esteem, serenity, and self-satisfaction.
• Find ways to place yourself at the top of your “to do list”
• Work on self-growth and self-actualization; discover what you enjoy beyond your job, household and family responsibilities.
• Nurture your spirituality, generating the core feelings of serenity and self-balance
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INTERVENING ON BURNOUT:
----Viktor Frankl
“WHAT IS TO GIVE LIGHT MUST ENDURE
BURNING.”
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HOW SUPERVISORS CAN
HELP EMPLOYEES
• Be open to changing the employees job position and job responsibilities, if necessary
• Be aware that serious burnout needs intensive and comprehensive long-term intervention
• Approach the employee – don’t just ignore it
• Encourage time out, and the use of the EAP
• Keep lines of communication open
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• Give frequent positive feedback and recognition
• Give employees an outlet to debrief difficult situations/customers
• Empower employees to set healthy boundaries to protect themselves emotionally
• Encourage pride and ownership in the job
• Increase employee participation in decision making
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THE MORE
RESILIENT WE BECOME, THE MORE
AFFECTIVE WE ARE IN HELPING OURSELVES
HELP OTHERS