Date of Award
Spring 1993
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Tagatz, Glenn
Second Advisor
Kipfmueller, Mark
Third Advisor
Heiden, Judith
Abstract
Burnout is a complex combination of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment in one's work resulting from continued stress over a long period of time. Stress results from maintaining our body and mind in an extended state of arousal. World Health Organization's (WHO) documentation reveals that about one half of the working population are unhappy about their jobs and as many as 90% may be spending much of their time and energy in work that brings them no closer to their goals in life. They also found that 75% of individuals who consult psychiatrists are experiencing problems that can be traced back to an inability to unwind or a lack of job satisfaction. (Levi, 1990) An estimated 17 billion dollars has been lost in productivity in American Industry. This can be attributed to stress related mental disorders. An estimated 30 billion dollars is lost due to stress-related physical illness. (Lorenz, 1980). Burnout affects the work place absenteeism rates, abuse of alcohol and other drugs, job turnover, and in the more difficult to measure loss of efficiency on the job by employees...