Framing an Integrated Approach for Mitigating and Preventing Burnout

• In Event: Staffing challenges

Abstract

My research focuses on the mitigation and prevention of burnout in the nonprofit sector. Maslach and Jackson (1981) define burnout as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. Maslach & Leiter (2000) also describe it as a crisis approaching epidemic proportions in North America. While burnout is typically associated with human services / service provider professions, the phenomenon has also been noted in several occupational spheres, (Leiter & Schaufeli 1996), especially within the nonprofit sector (Clary & Rose, 2022). According to a 2023 nationwide survey of US nonprofit employees, 50.2% of respondents reported that stress and burnout were a significant cause of nonprofit workforce shortages (National Council of Nonprofits, 2023). This is significant since a 2017 report acknowledges the nonprofit sector as the third largest workforce with 12.5 million paid workers in the U.S (Salamon & Newhouse, 2020).

Prior research has noted philanthropic practices like volunteering and giving for their psychological benefits, positive effects and “social” work rewards (Stater & Stater, 2019), amidst the challenge of elevated levels of burnout associated with the sector (Ban, Drahnak-Faller & Towers, 2003). Furthermore, the nonprofit sector struggles with the burden of producing impactful mission-driven results despite being under resourced (Salamon, Geller & Spence, 2009). Several studies have also connected burnout with turnover intention and high turnover rates in the nonprofit sector (Ducharme, Knudsen & Roman, 2007). Despite these difficulties, nonprofits strive to create impact for their stakeholders and communities.

My research focuses on finding successful and sustainable practices for the mitigation and prevention of burnout through empirical work in the nonprofit sector. Using the job demands-resource theory (Demerouti et al, 2001) as a framework for researching this phenomenon, I research the interplay between job demands (factors that cause strains and are associated with psychological and physiological costs) and job resources (factors that help employees cope with their job demands and achieve their goals) in nonprofit workers. I also use mixed methods in an exploratory sequential design to explore and examine the coping practices that nonprofit workers embraced during COVID-19 - a time of intense nonprofit burnout particularly for women who account for 67% of the nonprofit sector (Clary & Rose, 2022). Preliminary findings reveal that successful practices exist for the management of burnout. My research focuses on identifying these successful practices and integrating them into a multi-layered framework for the mitigation and prevention of burnout.

References

Ban, C., Drahnak-Faller, A., & Towers, M. (2003). Human resource challenges in human service and community development organizations: Recruitment and retention of professional staff. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 23(2), 133-153.

Clary, P. A., & Rose, P. V. (2022). The Impact of COVID-19: The Phenomenological Effect of Burnout on Women in the Nonprofit Sector and Implications for the Post-Pandemic Work World. Merits, 2(4), 331–341. MDPI AG.

Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. Journal of Applied psychology, 86(3), 499.

Ducharme, L. J., Knudsen, H. K., & Roman, P. M. (2007). Emotional exhaustion and turnover intention in human service occupations: The protective role of coworker support. Sociological Spectrum, 28(1), 81-104.

Leiter, M. P., & Schaufeli, W. B. (1996). Consistency of the burnout construct across occupations. Anxiety, stress, and coping, 9(3), 229-243.

Maslach, C.; Jackson, S.E. The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior 1981, 2, 99–113.

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2000). The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. John Wiley & Sons.

National Council of Nonprofits. (2023). 2023 Nonprofit Workforce Survey Results (Nonprofit Economic Data Bulletin No. 49). Retrieved from https://www.councilofnonprofits.org/reports/2023-nonprofit-workforce-survey-results.

Salamon, L. M., Geller, S. L., & Spence, K. L. (2009). Impact of the 2007-2009 economic recession on nonprofit organizations. The John Hopkins Listening Post Project, 14(1), 1-33.

Salamon, L. M., & Newhouse, C. L. (2020). The 2020 Nonprofit Employment Report (Nonprofit Economic Data Bulletin No. 48). Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies.

Stater, K. J., & Stater, M. (2019). Is It “Just Work”? The Impact of Work Rewards on Job Satisfaction and Turnover Intent in the Nonprofit, For-Profit, and Public Sectors. The American Review of Public Administration, 49(4), 495-511. https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074018815261.

Author

• Ifeoma Akobi, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy