Understanding Burnout in Child and Youth Care Workers

Burnout is a major concern in human service occupations as it has been linked to turnover, absenteeism, a reduction in the quality of services, numerous physical and psychological disorders, and a disruption in interpersonal relations (Maslach et al. 2001). Child and youth care workers are especially susceptible to burnout as the inherent challenges of working within the life-space of high-risk children and youth causes difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified employees. In the present study, burnout was measured in a group of 94 child and youth care workers from 8 agencies in a Western Canadian city using the three dimensional model of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The MBI conceptualizes burnout as emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a lack of a sense of personal accomplishment. Among these child and youth care workers each of the three dimensions of burnout was predicted by a combination of work environment, personality, and social support.