Burnout in Social Justice and Human Rights Activists: Symptoms, Causes and Implications

Abstract

Although people involved in every kind of professional or volunteer work can be susceptible to vocational burnout, research suggests that social justice and human rights (SJHR) activists, whose activist work is fraught with unique challenges, can be especially susceptible to it. Building on a small but growing body of scholarship on SJHR activist burnout, this study is an attempt to gain insight into SJHR activists' own experiences. In order to deepen the relatively slim present understandings of SJHR activist burnout, we adopted a grounded theory approach to analyse interview data from 22 SJHR activists involved in a wide variety of SJHR movements and organizations in the United States. This analysis revealed patterns in the activists' perceptions of the symptoms, causes, and implications of their burnout and pointed to several dimensions of the internal cultures of United States SJHR movements and organizations, including, in the words of one our participants, a 'culture of martyrdom', that hasten activist burnout and, as a result, render SJHR activism less effective and efficient. We discussed these findings and how they might inform efforts to strengthen SJHR movements by tending to the well-being of SJHR activists.

When Ignoring the News and Going Hiking Can Help You Save the World: Environmental Activist Strategies for Persistence

“…Burnout, a subset of dropping out, is defined as “a condition in which the accumulative stress associated with activism becomes so debilitating that once‐committed activists are forced to scale back on or disengage from their activism” (Gorski, Lopresti‐Goodman, and Rising :364). While there is overlap, the difference between the two concepts hinges on the fact that burnout is more of an involuntary act resulting from a chronic condition (Chen and Gorski ; Rettig ). That chronic condition can involve emotional, cognitive, physical, behavioral, and motivational symptoms (Chen and Gorski ; Schaufeli and Buunk ).…”

“…While there is overlap, the difference between the two concepts hinges on the fact that burnout is more of an involuntary act resulting from a chronic condition (Chen and Gorski ; Rettig ). That chronic condition can involve emotional, cognitive, physical, behavioral, and motivational symptoms (Chen and Gorski ; Schaufeli and Buunk ).…”

“…Internal causes of burnout are connected with the individual personalities of activists. An example of an internal cause may be burning out due to a strong affective bond with the movement driving activists to overextend themselves (Chen and Gorski ; Goodwin, Jasper, and Polletta ). Thus, failures such as losing a political battle may take a personal emotional toll on activists, perhaps causing them to feel they failed their life purpose (Gomes ; Pines ).…”

“…Finally, in‐movement causes of burnout are common. Social movement organizations may impose “cultures of martyrdom” that compel activists to overextend themselves and make too many sacrifices (Chen and Gorski ; Gorski and Chen ). In‐movement conflict is also common, sometimes leading to the marginalization and isolation of certain activists within groups (Cox ; Gorski et al ).…”

Strategic relationship management and civic information in an activist organization

“…With the use of customer management systems (CRMs) by political candidates and wide-spread mis-information tactics in today's media, American citizens are experiencing mistrust in their political structures and civic information systems (Rainie & Perrin, 2019). Due to the saturation of political and civic information available online, contemporary social movement organizations experience challenges retaining the attention of members, building consistent relationships with members, and maintaining participation in activism without reaching activist burnout (Chen & Gorski, 2015). Using CRMs have allowed activist organizations to become digital centers for distributing civic information and organizing their membership connections more effectively (Reile, 2019).…”