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11-CPI-INT-013 06/11

CPI Info Capsule

What to Do About Staff Burnout

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As a human service provider, you may find it difficult to stay positive at times. The physical and emotional stresses of your job can take their toll no matter how strong you are. As these stresses build, your physical and emotional health can begin to suffer, making you wonder if your job is worth everything that comes with it.

This combination of stress, work overload, and competing demands on time can produce a feeling called burnout, a type of exhaustion that results from long-term stress. If you work in human services, you’ll probably experience it at one time or another.

If you feel helpless, hopeless, unmotivated, or unappreciated at times, you may be suffering from burnout. But remember—feelings of burnout can affect you only if you let them.

What Causes Burnout?Burnout results from a number of factors. Long hours, constant change, and doing more with less are facts of life in many workplaces. But, as a human service provider, there are two additional factors you might be dealing with:

You took this job in order to make a difference. Now your idealism has run headlong into reality. Despite your hard work, problems persist. Children keep getting abused. Kids use drugs. Bullies find new targets. Parolees re-offend. Abused women return to their abusers. Families become homeless. Patients die. Not every story has a happy ending. Many of them don’t.

You are continually challenged by the behavior of the people you serve. You believe you should be able to cope with their behaviors or influence them to change. You feel inadequate. And you’re not alone—caregivers who work with challenging individuals report more anxiety and less job satisfaction than those who don’t have to deal with difficult behavior.

How Can I Avoid Burnout?Start by taking care of yourself. It’s common advice, but it works. Get enough sleep. Eat right. Exercise. Enjoy your hobbies. Seek balance in your life. The better shape you’re in when you arrive at work, the better you’ll be able to cope with the day’s challenges. Here are some specific steps you can take to reduce your risk of burnout:

4 Make peace with what is realistic for you to accomplish. You are only one person. Recognize and accept that you cannot do it all.

4 Ask for help when you need it. It’s not a sign of weakness. In fact, it’s a sign of a true professional to know when you need a break or when you’re in over your head.

4 Recognize that you have choices. Even if you cannot change a situation, you can change your attitude and your response to it. For example, perhaps you provide care for someone who really knows how to push your buttons, and you often find yourself losing your temper. By allowing this individual to trigger your temper, you’ve made the choice to give away self-control. Try to make more positive choices.

What to Do About Staff BurnoutCPI Info Capsule

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4 Put a limit on your work hours Establish boundaries between your personal life and your professional life. Try not to take your work home.

4 Instead of thinking about the things in your life that drain your energy, focus on

the things that recharge your batteries. Make time for whatever you find most meaningful. Whether it’s a hobby, an outdoor activity, or time with your family and friends, schedule that time into your day.

4 Don’t allow yourself to get in a rut. Keep learning. Try new things. Have goals.

4 Build a support system for yourself. Research shows that caregivers who support one another report less stress and more job satisfaction.

Burnout is a very real danger in any human service profession. By taking proactive steps to maintain a positive attitude at work and a healthy balance between your personal life and your work life, you will be better able to provide Care, Welfare, Safety, and SecuritySM for those in your care—and for yourself.

About CPICPI is the standard-setting provider of behavior management training that equips employees to have an immediate, tangible, and lasting positive impact on the people and organizations they serve. Through a variety of specialized offerings, CPI training empowers professionals with a set of practical actions they can apply both in and out of the workplace.

Since 1980, more than six million individuals have participated in CPI’s Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training, which teaches proven techniques for managing disruptive and assaultive behavior. This transformative training is led by deeply committed, experienced Instructors who have seen firsthand that these prevention and intervention strategies can save lives. Learn more about how CPI educates, empowers, and enriches at crisisprevention.com or call 800.558.8976.

What to Do About Staff BurnoutCPI Info Capsule