ACTA UNIVERSITATIS PALACKIANAE OLOMUCENSIS GYMNICA ...

8 Acta Univ. Palacki. Olomuc., Gymn. 2004, vol. 34, no. 2According to the concept developed by Maslach, theburnout syndrome is a multi-dimensional phenomenon.Its three dimensions are:Emotional Exhaustion – EE: A subjective senseof exhaustion or depletion of one’s resistance andemotional resources and a loss of the “joie de vivre”.Individuals who manifest this dimension of burnoutshow strong emotional reactions to weak stimuli, areeasily engaged in conflicts, become uncommunicativeand increasingly more emotionally involved in situationsthat require professional interventions.Personal Accomplishment – PA: A subjective assessmentof the value of one’s professional work. Thedimension – the realm of positive feelings – is negativelycorrelated with the other two dimensions; in the courseof the analysis and interpretation of MBI scores, the scaleis reversed. The Negative Sense of Professional AchievementScale (NSPAS) is a tool for diagnosing a decreasedsense of one’s competencies or achievements at work.Depersonalization – DP: It is manifested throughnegative, cool, distanced (or even outright cynical)behaviors towards individuals, with whom the affectedperson maintains work-associated relations. Any problemspertaining to other people are perceived as justlydeserved, for which the said others should suffer consequences(Noworol, 2003, an unpublished manuscript).The phenomenon of burnout progresses with timeand is manifested in various ways in particular individuals.According to Maslach, the presented symptom isan increasing emotional exhaustion, followed by lossof satisfaction over one’s professional achievements. Inconsequence of the situation, the process of depersonalizationbegins – the affected person distances himselffrom specific stress posed by another human being(Noworol, 2000). Burned-out individuals are defi nedas persons manifesting the triad of the factors characteristicof the multi-dimensionally analyzed syndrome(Krawulska-Ptaszyńska, 1992).emotional exhaustion⇒ negative sense of professional achievements⇒ depersonalizationAccording to McConnell, the tri-dimensional burnoutsyndrome develops at three levels (McConnell,1982, in Noworol, 1989).Level 1:Mild, short-term symptoms that appear incidentally;– the symptoms may be relieved via relaxation or workbreaks.Level 2:The symptoms are intensifi ed and occur more regularly;– the typical strategies of symptom alleviation, suchas, for example, weekend rest and recreation, ceaseto be successful;– the recovery and ability of continued self-care requirean additional effort.Level 3:Continuous signals of burnout, physical and mentalproblems appear (depression, manic states);– any efforts directed towards relieving the symptomson one’s own are pointless;– any professional help does not provide an immediateeffect.Based on the theory developed by Maslach, Golembiewskidetermined a contrary direction of the burnoutpathway. In his opinion, depersonalization, also understoodas the effect of stress that leads to a lowered sensitivitythreshold, and in consequence to the developmentof distancing behaviors, is the first factor to appear. Thereaction of other fellow-workers to the increasing coolnessand distance in professional contacts with theaffected person with progressive burnout leads in the latterto a decreased sense of self-esteem and professionalachievements. As a result of intensified symptoms, theemployee starts to react in the emotional sphere, whichleads to emotional burnout (Noworol, 2000).depersonalization⇒ negative sense of professional achievements⇒ emotional exhaustionThe burnout process described by Maslach andGolembiewski may be schematically represented asa system of pathways that have reverse directions. Inview of this fact, these theories have been termed “facingtheories” (Noworol, 2000).The seemingly contrary theories have been combinedinto a comprehensive unity in the four-stage typologicalmodel of burnout that has originated from theeight-stage model developed by Golembiewski (Noworol& Marek, 1994).In the typological model (Fig. 6), the burnoutprocess includes four major stages: T0 (Unaffected byburnout), T1, T2, T3 (Burned-out), with the T1 and T2phases being complex. The progressive burnout processmay proceed along various paths that are specificfor a given individual (a micro-path), or a professionalgroup (a macro-path), which is depicted in Fig. 6. Thefacing theories constitute two separate paths in the fourstagemodel – the theory developed by Maslach describesthe burnout process in the so-called helping professions,while the solution proposed by Golembiewski explains theintensification of the syndrome chiefly in the managerialprofessions (Noworol, 2000).Polish studies on the phenomenon of burnout inteachers chiefly concentrate on analyzing the problemin relation to methods of coping with stress, somepersonality and temperament-associated determinants,