ORIGINAL PAPER
Occupational burnout among workers in the long-term care sector in relation to their personality traits
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1
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
(Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, Department of Social Pedagogy)
2
Ludwig Fresenius Schulen, Hannover gem. GmbH, Germany
Online publication date: 2020-12-30
Corresponding author
Anna Kanios
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, Department of Social Pedagogy, Narutowicza 12,
20-031 Lublin, Poland
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(4):491-504
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ABSTRACT
Objectives: This paper investigates the sense of occupational burnout among people working with older persons in the long-term care sector in relation
to their personality traits. The study objective is to examine the correlation between the sense of burnout and personality traits of persons working
in the helping professions, the so-called human services. According to researchers, these professionals are susceptible to occupational burnout due
to the involvement of their personal emotions in the helping process. Material and Methods: The study encompassed 238 workers employed at care
institutions for older people. The authors used a diagnostic survey as the research method, and the following research instruments: the Maslach Burnout
Inventory by C. Maslach (to assess an individual’s sense of burnout) and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory by P.T. Costa and R.R. McCrae (to assess
personality traits). Results: The survey indicates that workers are at risk of occupational burnout, and statistically significant differences have been
observed in their sense of burnout depending on their personality traits in all the inventories analyzed: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and
personal accomplishment. Conclusions: Since the survey results confirm the differences in the sense of occupational burnout among the respondents
with different personality traits, measures should be taken for the prevention and early detection of burnout in workers. For the intervention methods
to be effective, workers’ personality traits should be taken into account. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(4):491–504