Administrator Burnout

Abstract

The authors focus attention on administrator burnout, calling attention to the research on burnout among human services staff and noting parallels on the management level. Burnout, a kind of exhaustion resulting from the demands and drains in interactions with others, leads to physical and psychological symptoms and a need to separate from the stressing sources. Stressors contributing to administrator burnout are identified, and the implications of burnout for effective agency functioning are noted. Some preliminary suggestions for intervention into administrator burnout are provided.

Supervision in Occupational Therapy, Part 2: The Supervisee's Dilemma

“…This suggestion is not new and can certainly be supported by continuing trends in the recruitment and retention of occupational therapy personnel. For instance, it has long been recognised that the chronic shortfall of occupational therapists for funded NHS posts has created an accelerated climb up the career ladder for young and relatively inexperienced therapists (for example, Silvestri and Lukasiewicz 1987) and similar problems have been encountered within other health care disciplines (for example, Harvey and Raider 1984). It has been suggested that this accelerated climb to supervisory positions potentially leads to crisis management and to a lack of managerial and person-management skills.…”

A further examination of managerial burnout: Toward an integrated model

“…Hellman and Morrison (1987) found that therapists working with very disturbed patients in institutional settings experienced greater energy depletion and self-doubt than did therapists working with less disturbed patients in private settings, and Ross, Altmaier and Russell (1989) found that client contacts were related to depersonalization as well. Moreover, for service supervisors and managers, considerable tirne is spent with subordinates, who often seek the same level of support, nurturance, and problem intervention as clients themselves (Harvey and Raider, 1984). Thus, it is posited that:…”

“…Helplessness is defined as the cognition that outcomes are independent of behavior, and is typically inferred from a lack of control (Ashforth, 1989). While service supervisors and managers are presumed to exercise considerable control over their units, the opposite is generally true (Harvey and Raider, 1984). They usually must work around various organizational constraints and have little decision latitude in many policy matters.…”

“…Given the progressive nature of burnout (Edelwich and Brodsky, 1980;Golembiewski, 1989), planned interventions should be designed for the long haul and should deal with the root cause rather than just the symptoms. For service supervisors and managers, such as those in the present study, such interventions might include restructuring work units to allow for greater decision latitude and work autonomy and less situational uncertainty (Cherniss, 1980), and developing emotional and instrumental support networks to assist in the handling of problematic situations (Harvey and Raider, 1984). Just as individuals may adopt new coping responses when previous ones prove ineffective or when stressors are perceived (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984), intervention programs should also be monitored and be flexible enough to deal with unanticipated events.…”

OTR Burnout

“…One possibility is that OT managcrs who spend relatively little time with patients may be experiencing more job stress than other OTRs. Harvey and Raider (1984), for examplc, have suggested that helping professionals who are trained in direct service and become managers without proper management training, may be at risk for burnout. Also, onc of the easiest ways for managers to cope with job stress may be to distance themselves from patients and colleagues through a depersonaljzation process.…”