Dimensions of Burnout According to Ellis and REBT - Assignment Example

? xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxxx Assignment This paper has three sections, which discuss dimensions of burnout, irrational beliefs according to Ellis and REBT, and character strengths. Institution : xxxxxxx @2012 1a) Describe the three dimensions of burnout? Burnout is the reaction of an individual to stress at the workplace (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter 2001). Consequently, such a worker usually reduces his or her levels of concentration. Therefore, when many workers at the workplace suffer from the burnout, the firm is likely to have reduced levels of efficiency. According to Maslach et al. (2001) burnout has three qualities as listed below. Three Burnout dimensions The first dimension of burnout is exhaustion. Exhaustion results from the stress that an employee experiences because of work demands both emotionally and physically. The second dimension of burnout is the depersonalisation of an employee from his work. When an employee becomes depersonalised from his work, he develops a negative attitude towards his duties. Consequently, such an employee reduces his level of efficiency. Thirdly, there is the dimension of an employee feeling inadequate in his work. An employee suffers from this dimension if he feels or someone makes him feel incompetent or an underachiever. 1b) The design of a study that checks the effectiveness of strategies that address burnout among health workers in large organizations. In order to know how it is possible to minimise the levels of burnout in a large health organization among the health workers, it is necessary to carry out a study. This study will evaluate the work conditions for the workers, and should involve the interviewing of willing workers and the employer as well. During the study, the researcher should consider the amount of workload and the factors leading to burnout, as explained below. First, a researcher should consider the amount of workload that a health worker handles in the organization. This is a key consideration because excessive workloads lead to burnout. As a result, the individual tries to work very hard and he or she ends up suffering from fatigue. On the same note, it is possible for a firm to fail in supporting its employees by providing the required resources. Therefore, these workers end up straining too much to achieve any task to completion. These resources could be material resources, social support or information such as feedback on a project (Maslach, 2000, p.12). Secondly, the researcher should consider the factors within individuals that could lead to burnout. The first consideration is the age of an individual. People who are starting their careers usually suffer from this condition more than the people who have experience in their area of specialisation (Maslach, 2000, p.13). Second, gender also plays a role in the rate of burnout among workers. Women are more prone to burnout than men are. Third, the marital status of an individual also affects the chances of an individual to suffer from exhaustion. In this category, the single men are the ones that have the highest chances of experiencing burnout. Fourth, there is the issue of career expectations within an individual (Maslach, 2000, p.13). However, it is important for a researcher to consider some work ethics during the research. First, it is important to inform the health workers and their employer about the study. This means that the researcher should tell the participants about the scope, the involved procedures and length of the study. Second, he should inform these participants when the study is over. Third, the researcher should protect the identity of the people who take part in his study by keeping it anonymous. Fourth, a researcher should not deceive the participants of the study in order to get any information (Macleod, 2007). References MacLeod, S. 2007. Psychology Research Ethics. [Online] Retrieved April 24, 2012 from http://www.simplypsychology.org/Ethics.html Maslach,C., Shaufeli, W., & Leiter, M. (2001). Job Burnout. , Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397-422. 2a) What role do irrational beliefs play in emotional and psychological disturbance? Albert Ellis came up with a model of administering therapy from the understanding of a patient’s condition. However, he did not ignore considering the behavior and the emotions of such patients. Ellis developed the ABC model with the intention of being able to understand the different personalities in individuals and finding out why someone changes his personality. These three letters of the model stand for the Activating event, Beliefs and Consequences. The irrational beliefs in an individual play a great role in the development of his disturbances. These irrational beliefs usually lead to emotional attachments to aspects such as success, safety, treatment received from friends, love and approval. This individual usually sets illogical standards and expectations for either himself or the people around him. Consequently, when these beliefs are sustained for a long time, this individual becomes vulnerable to psychological disturbance (Sharp 2004 p.325). The challenges of changing the way of thinking of an individual Most individuals usually develop their irrational beliefs due to either biological factors or social factors. When considering the biological factors affecting the development of irrational beliefs, Ellis believes that an individual will have an inborn way of thinking (Sharp 2004 p.325). Therefore, it is possible for someone to react to a situation by thinking irrationally because it is in his nature. The second aspect of the biological influence on an individual’s way of thinking is that such a person will always stand by his way of thinking irrespective of another person’s opinion. Thirdly, thinking irrationally is a trait that can be genetic in families (Sharp 2004 p.325). This means that if a father or a mother thinks in an irrational manner, then there is the likelihood that the children of such a parent or parents will think in a similar manner. Considering these three factors, it is really a great challenge for a therapist to convince such an individual to change his way of irrational thinking. The second aspect that leads to an irrational way of thinking in an individual is the society around him. Society will include the peers, the schoolmates, religious organisations and family. The society could impose an irrational belief within an individual in two ways. One, it could be that the society requires an individual to act in a certain way. Therefore, the individual ends up thinking that it is wrong not to meet those requirements. For instance, in some churches it is necessary to go to church on every Sabbath. Two, the society might disapprove an individual’s way of acting. Therefore, this person endeavors to improve his image by becoming an absolutist. Once either aspect affects an individual, it becomes his second nature to think irrationally. This makes it very hard to change the irrational way of thinking of the psychologically disturbed person. References Sharp, R.S 2004, Theories of psychotherapy and counseling: Concepts and cases, 3rd edn, Thomson Brooks, Melbourne. The three character strengths that I would like to develop in myself. In life, it is not possible to be perfect. There are the times that someone will need to redefine himself or herself in order to have a new better new self than the old one. During this redefinition, one of the areas that someone can change is the character. Currently, I have this need of developing and adopting some new character strengths. Actually, I will focus on three character strengths, which will be curiosity, persistence and modesty. Following is a discussion of how I will achieve my success in the development of these strengths. The first character strength is curiosity with regard to my environment. When I say that I want to develop curiosity in me, I mean that I want to learn more about the things that happen in my country, within my institution of learning and around my area of residence (Merriam Webster dictionary). In order for me to be able to satisfy my curiosity, I have developed a good plan. Firstly, I will read the notices on my school’s notice board every day. This way, I will know about the upcoming events early enough rather than knowing about them when they are happening or when they have already happened. Secondly, I intend to watch the news broadcast at least once every day. In watching the news, I will know what is happening within my city of residence and the country as well. The second character strength that I want to build within myself is persistence. I have a weakness of starting something only to stop taking part in that activity as soon as I start it. Therefore, I have been doing the exact opposite of persistence (Nansook, Peterson, Seligman and Tracy, 2005). To ensure that I build this strength in me, I will start by reading a number of novels from the best authors such as Robert Ludlum. When I read only five novels to completion, then I will know am making progress in my desire to be persistent. Considering the size of these best selling novels, it will take me quite some time to finish one of them. Therefore, I will be reading a minimum of twenty pages every weekday. Over the weekends, I will read more about two hundred pages because I have plenty of free time. With this consistency, I should be able to finish a novel within two weeks. On the same note, I believe that I will also include this persistence in my academics as well. Finally, I want to be a modest person. This means that I will not go on to point out my accomplishments but I will let people notice them by themselves (Peterson and Seligman, 2004). For instance, when I become more persistent on good reading habits, my grades will definitely improve. However, I will not point it out to the people around me because I want to be a modest person. Moreover, I know that I have access to the state of the art electronics and I will sometimes drive my family’s sports car to school. However, I will not tell people that I have any of these, even when I have them. References Peterson, M.E.S, Nansook, P. and Tracy A. S., 2005. Positive Psychology Progress. American Psychological Association. Merriam Webster. Definition of Curiosity. [Online] Retrieved April 24 2012 from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curiosity Read More