Burnout

Burnout is the term used to describe the experience of long-term strain and exhaustion. It is typically a response to work overload when there is prolonged and intense stress, accompanied by ineffective coping strategies [389]. Components of burnout and active coping strategies are illustrated in Figure 19.

While some stress has been found to enhance performance, this is only up to a point. As shown in Figure 20, evidence suggests there is a ‘sweet spot’ of stress, which can enhance motivation and optimise creativity, where workers are challenged and engaged by their tasks. On the other hand, a lack of challenging and engaging work can result in boredom, disengagement and decreased productivity. Beyond the sweet spot, too much stress can reduce performance and lead to fatigue, illness, irritability and burnout [1597].

Adapted from Yerkes and Dodson [1597].

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one-third of AOD workers across Australia reported having experienced some degree of burnout [7], but this rate is likely to be an underestimate of the current situation as rates of burnout have since soared across healthcare professions [1598]. Typically these feelings are associated with the pressure to meet the clinical demands of caring for a large volume of clients, who often present with complex and challenging treatment needs and may be challenging to engage and retain in treatment, as well as frequent staff shortages [399, 1599–1603]. Other workplace stressors and risk factors include [389]:

• Excessive workload and time pressure.
• Role conflict from different job demands.
• Role ambiguity due to lack of resources and unclear goals.
• Lack of support from co-workers and supervisors.
• Lack of feedback about performance.
• Lack of control and involvement in decision-making.
• Concern about whether you are making a difference.
• Concern about whether you are doing your job effectively.
• Concern about whether you are valued and adequately remunerated.
• Distressing outcomes for clients.
• Workplace conflict.
• Lack of support for training or adequate clinical supervision.
• Job uncertainty.

Experiencing burnout can lead to reduced job satisfaction and performance, and may lead AOD workers to become exhausted, detached from clients, and feel ineffective and cynical about the profession [389, 431]. These feelings have also been found to predict whether workers will choose to continue working in the AOD sector [1604].

It is important that AOD workers who believe they may be at risk of burnout approach their supervisors and seek arrangements for support, including the use of relevant Employee Assistance Programs where available. Active coping and holistic self-care strategies, described below, have also been associated with reduced levels of stress and reduced likelihood of burnout [389, 1605].