The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between wellness and burnout among novice counselors. This research was carried out in order to gain a better understanding of the experience of the novice counselor as well as to gain insight into the effects of wellness and burnout on these experiences. The significance of this research lies in the need to understand the novice counselor's journey, the factors that can contribute to or prevent burnout, and the potential prevention and intervention strategies that can be employed in response to burnout. The data of a final sample of 144 participants' scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), The Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (5F-Wel), and a demographic questionnaire were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences in order to explore the relationships between wellness and burnout. The researcher found significant relationships between demographic factors of the novice counselor, including age, years of experience, and number of hours delivering counseling services, and both the MBI and the 5F-Wel. The researcher also found a relationship between all factors of wellness and the three subscales of burnout. A particularly important finding was the significance of the Coping Self, Physical Self, and Creative Self subscales of wellness to the subscales of burnout. The implications of the findings include the development of specific intervention and prevention strategies for novice counselors. Limitations of this research include the relatively small sample size, potential bias among the participants who chose to complete the survey, and the limited generalizability. / by Jennifer Bilot. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of Access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The literature is replete with studies and information about registered nurse burnout, compassion fatigue, and turnover rates. Registered nurses enhance and bring benefits to the health care system, but stressful health care environments may contribute to their self-neglect and may adversely affect their decision to remain working at the bedside. Retention of registered nurses is necessary for the delivery of patient care. An investigation of self-compassion among registered nurses in the clinical workplace may help to understand how registered nurses deal with the pressures of the health care setting. In addition, there is a need for research to clarify what self-compassion looks like among nurses and how it may foster caring for themselves, nurse retention, and the delivery of quality patient care. This qualitative study used a phenomenological method designed to illuminate registered nurses’ experiences of self-compassion in clinical practice. Also, findings from this study will contribute to the body of knowledge of self-compassion in the context of registered nurses. Van Manen’s phenomenological research method of the six activities were used to guide the study. Nine registered nurses were interviewed about their experiences of being kind and compassionate toward oneself in the clinical work setting. Transcripts of the study participants’ interviews were analyzed and four essential themes emerged that shed light on these nurses’ experiences of self-compassion: (1) Transforming Time Famine; (2) Authentic Communication and Presence, (3) Collegial Cohesion, and (4) Evolution Toward an Ideal Registered Nurse. Most of the participants in this study shared stressful situations in the clinical workplace along with encouraging learning points through their stories of being kind to themselves in the workplace while caring for others.

This study examined the results of the National Prison Wardens’ Survey to ascertain the levels of job satisfaction, occupational sentiments, and work-related stress among prison wardens and to establish whether these variables differed between male and female respondents. The findings indicated that wardens generally experience high levels of job satisfaction, reflect positive occupational sentiments, and report low levels of work-related stress. Additionally, results from the Chi-square tests and Lambda measures of association indicated that little to no relationship existed between gender and any of the explored variables. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Nonclinical frontline employees (FLE) work in a complex role that provides critical administrative support to healthcare organizations and they are extremely vulnerable to workplace stress. These employees frequently encounter challenging situations and routinely interact and serve many demanding customers. The purpose of this exploratory study was to understand how FLEs have learned the abilities they utilized to cope with workplace stress and how these relate to emotional intelligence. Utilizing a comprehensive survey; comprised of a demographic questionnaire, three assessment instruments (PSS, Brief COPE and SSEIT), a critical incident series and individual interviews, this study sought to understand the learned strategies acquired through personal and professional experiences and how those experiences impacted coping tendencies. FLEs were found to perceive high self efficacy and routinely regulated emotions in an effort to manage stress. Employees also adeptly managed routine conflict and impromptu difficult interactions. Formal, Nonformal and informal learning were pivotal to cultivating the strategies utilized in the workplace. Despite unpredictable stress levels, role ambiguity and the desire for stress management training, FLEs were optimistic, demonstrated the ability to use emotional intelligence and coped relatively well in the workplace.

Burnout in the social work field is becoming increasingly common due to the emotional intensity of the client-social worker relationship and job demands. Research has shown that burnout has detrimental effects not only on the social worker themselves but on clients and agencies as well. Limited research exists examining which professional setting of social work experiences the highest level of burnout. This study used secondary data collected by, Dr. Lizano in 2016 from the 4thAnnual California State University, San Bernardino BASW and MSW Field Instructor Training. A quantitative method was used to analyze which setting of social work (child welfare, mental health, medical, and educational) has the highest level of burnout. Findings from this study suggest there is a relationship between mental health social workers experiencing burnout compared to the other fields of social work. Specifically, depersonalization was the only dimension of job burnout that had significant findings among mental health social workers. This study has implications on both the micro and macro level of social work. Being able to identity which setting of social work is suffering the most from burnout is crucial to develop preventative measures for social worker well-being.

Teaching is stressful. The demands placed on teachers can result in emotional exhaustion and burnout, causing many to leave the profession. Teachers early in their careers seem to be at special risk, with desistence rates estimated as high as 40% in the first five years. This study was based on the notion that constructive coping can be a resource for teachers, and that teachers later in their professional lives may provide a model for adaptive ways of dealing with professional demands. The goal of the study was to examine whether the coping process utilized by teachers (including reported demands, appraisals, ways of coping, resolutions, and post-coping assessment) differed at different stages of their career. Participants (n = 57) were teachers (90% female) ranging in age from 28-63, teaching in grades 4 to 12. The current study utilized a portion of the baseline open-ended interview of a randomized waitlist control study conducted to explore the effects of a mindfulness-based program. After coding the interview data for each step of the coping process, frequency analyses revealed that: (1) as in previous studies, the most frequently reported demands were problems with students (40%), followed by workload (18%) and parents (15%); (2) the most frequently reported appraisal was extreme negative emotion (44%); (3) the most frequently reported ways of coping were adaptive, including problem-solving (65%), support seeking (35%), and self regulation (22%); (4) the most frequently reported resolution of the stressful episode was successful (51%); and (5) with regards to post coping assessment, teachers most frequently reported that they would do something differently in future episodes if they could (54%). A series of Chi-square analyses to explore whether there is an association between how the teachers responded to questions corresponding to each step revealed that (1) teachers who reported parents as a demand in teaching were more likely to report extreme negative emotion and the use of self-regulation, which was associated with a successful resolution; (2) teachers who reported the administration as a demand were also more likely to use support seeking as a way of coping; and (3) teachers who reported using more maladaptive ways of coping were also more likely to report an unsuccessful resolution. Finally, pairwise comparisons to determine which groups of teachers differed from each other showed that, in keeping with expectations, early career teachers reported "no negative emotion" less and "extreme negative emotion" more than other groups, while late career teachers mentioned "no negative emotion" more. In terms of demands, early career teachers mentioned the environment less whereas late career teachers mentioned parents less and students more often. In terms of coping, late career teachers reported using self-regulation less and cognitive accommodation more than the other groups. Finally, early career teachers were more likely to say that they would try different effective strategies in future coping episodes while late career teachers were less likely to report that they would do so. Applications of these findings are discussed for process-oriented theories of teacher stress and coping, for future studies examining how coping develops over the course of a professional career, and for preservice training and school-based interventions designed to promote adaptive coping for teachers at every phase of their profession.

Occupational stress has become a world-wide epidemic exacting severe tolls on both businesses and employees alike. Of all the workplace stressors, the perceived dangerousness of one's job is ever present within the occupation of corrections. The current study examined the mediating process of perceived stress on the relationship between perceived dangerousness of the job and the negative employee well-being outcomes of work-family conflict and symptoms of psychological distress, as well as the moderating effects of family supportive supervisor behaviors on this process. As part of a larger study, survey data were collected from 1,370 state correctional officers. It was hypothesized that perceived stress would fully mediate the relationship between perceived dangerousness of job and the negative well-being outcomes and that family supportive supervisor behaviors would moderate this mediation such that increased levels of family supportive supervisor behaviors would mitigate the negative well-being outcomes. The mediation hypotheses were not found to be supported. However, family supportive supervisor behaviors were found to moderate the relationship between perceived dangerousness of the job and work-to-family conflict. Additionally, family supportive supervisor behaviors were found to moderate the relationship between perceived stress and physical symptoms of psychological distress.

A teacher's ability to foster and sustain high quality learning environments for their students relies largely on their own coping abilities and mental health. However, due to the emotionally taxing nature of their profession, teachers are at increased risk for developing elevated levels of occupational stress and burnout. To help teachers cope with their occupational stress and other negative emotions related to their occupation, mindfulness-based stress reduction programs for teachers have been introduced through schools. Evidence for the effectiveness of such programs is promising, however few studies have considered underlying mechanisms that may be driving these effects. Using data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial, this thesis examines the impact of mindfulness training on three coping resources, namely, somatic body awareness, executive function, and emotion regulation. Additionally, this thesis examines whether development of these resources translate into improvements in teachers' occupational well-being--specifically indicated through reductions in their anxiety, depression, stress, and burnout. Results suggest that the mindfulness training significantly improves teachers' somatic body awareness, with evidence for improvements in teachers' emotion regulation reappraisal as well. Additionally, some mediation results were promising, however, no significant mediations were found for any of the coping resources on any of the well-being outcomes for teachers. By addressing these topics, the results of this thesis contribute to the current field's understanding of how mindfulness training works to improve well-being in teachers.

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Police members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) work under constant physical, emotional and psychological stress due to the demands of their work. It is possible to assume that this profession could be more susceptible to trauma, depression and suicide ideation than a less demanding profession. The increase in suicides within the SAPS in the past years has created great concern worldwide. The literature review contributes to the understanding of vicarious trauma by providing evidence of its widespread existence and the impact on all professions that deal with trauma victims, as do the SAPS. A need for further research was highlighted. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of vicarious trauma within the SAPS; how rank, marital status, education, duration of service and workload affect the existence of vicarious trauma; and how the experience of vicarious trauma affects the lives of the SAPS member . A quantitative study was done with a sample comprising of 60 SAPS members from the Limpopo Province (Lebowakgomo and Mankweng stations). The inclusion criteria included: participants (both permanent and voluntary) had to be active, field working members of the SAPS and had to be in direct association with trauma victims. The conceptual framework: T rauma Theory guided the description and interpretation of the data. Findings revealed that there exist, at present, high levels of vicarious trauma within the SAPS. The duration of service and the marital status of the individual were found to have an influence on the existence of compassion fatigue, while rank, workload, education level and gender were found to have no direct relationship to the presence of vicarious trauma. Finally , this study concludes with recommendations for future studies into vicarious trauma within the SAPS.

Frontline service personnel (FSP) play an invaluable role in the marketing mix by directly influencing the customers perception of both the service organization as well as the service quality during the face-to-face delivery service encounter (Ashforth and Humphrey 1993). The purpose of this dissertation is to examine how sources of job stress for FSP such as perceived customer demands, role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, and emotional labor and various mediators such as job autonomy, emotional intelligence, and emotion-focused coping directly and indirectly influence job stress and outcome variables such as attitudes, behaviors, physical consequences, emotional exhaustion, job performance, and intentions. Research from frontline social service personnels (FSSP) perspective was collected in three phases: 1) eight personal in-depth interviews to determine the fit of the constructs in the model in a social service environment, 2) a cognitive response survey gathered from 86 FSSP to identify appropriate line items, and 3) a survey questionnaire gathered from 533 members of the National Association of Social Workers-Florida. Psychometrically sound scales developed and purified in the study demonstrated reliability and validity. These scales were then used to examine the structural model. Structural equation modeling, correlations, and regression analyses were used to examine relationships in the model. Results of the study indicated that self-management of emotionally-based behavior was significant in the creation and reduction of job stress. Findings suggest that the influence of emotional-based behavior plays a significant role in job performance at the social service encounter and indirectly influences intention to switch and intention to leave.