This thesis discusses the presence of burnout syndrome among professionals employed in institutions for people with special needs. Burnout syndrome is characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. It commonly affects employees in people-oriented occupations.
The thesis initially characterises stress, causes of stress and the relationship between long-term job stress and burnout syndrome. Burnout syndrome and its components are then described. The primary purpose of this study is to determine whether burnout syndrome is present among professionals employed in institutions for people with special needs. The sample consisted of 104 employees. To establish the presence of burnout syndrome we used the Maslach Burnout inventory (MBI), which is a standardised questionnaire for evaluating the presence of burnout syndrome.
Burnout syndrome prevalence was established through the statistical analysis of data from the sample. The core component of burnout syndrome is emotional exhaustion, while depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment are described as additional components. Statistical analysis of these components has found significant differences by gender, education level, age groups, length of employment, the weekly number of hours working with people in their care and hours spent preparing for work. No statistically significant differences were found between different positions of employment or between groups of employees in terms of their patients’ age structure. Finally, the study found statistically significant differences in perception of burnout syndrome between employees who use relaxations techniques and those who do not.
Additionally, the thesis studies measures to prevent and reduce burnout syndrome. It recommends the conduct of a survey on the sources of burnout syndrome in individual institutions and the implementation of systemic or organisational measures at the institution level. Finally, psychotherapeutic studies should be conducted to determine suitable measures for employees suffering from burnout syndrome.
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