The emotional requirements that are characterized in many assisting occupations, such as social work, nursing, psychotherapy and medicine, can cause individuals to experience distress and eventual development of burnout. Social work is a complex and emotionally demanding profession in which social workers must effectively manage their own feelings while maintaining the well-being of others. Although there is already a lot written about burnout in work organizations, few studies focus on the phenomenon of burnout among students. This study explores the phenomenon of burnout among students at the Faculty of Social Work, examines what the average degree of burnout is among students and studies differences in burnout by gender, year of study and age, and which degree of burnout classes the students belong. This master's thesis consists of two parts. The first part is theoretical and presents the foundations of the topics in question. The second part is empirical, as it presents the problem, methodology, results, debate, conclusions and suggestions.
The quantitative survey was carried out on a convenience sample of 138 students at the Faculty of Social Work between the ages of 19 and 49 years. It involved 120 women and 18 men. The data was obtained using the online SAI questionnaire.
More than half of social work students are burned out and most fall into stage 1 burnout. Only a few students are of working-age, less than a quarter are candidates for burnout and only 14% are unthreatened. The results of the study showed that the difference in burnout by gender, age and year of study was not statistically significant. A third of students show no signs of burnout, 20 % of students are in grade 2 and 2% in grade 3 and 4. The first and second stage cover the burnout process and those in the third and fourth stages are classified as burnout.
There was also a link between burnout and attachment styles. Unsafe attachment styles are found among most students who are burnt out, where avoidant and preoccupied styles of attachment seem to be prevalent.
In the future, it would be important to carry out a similar survey on the younger (secondary school) and older (already working in social work) populations while also checking the survey data for social work students when the country is not amidst a pandemic. More attention should also be paid to the prevention and curation of burnout among students by students themselves as well as the Faculty of Social Work with focus on raising self-awareness, the enhancement of emotional intelligence and psychomental hygiene of students with various relaxation techniques, for instance mindfulness training.
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