THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THE „BURNOUT“ SYNDROME

Abstract

Medicine has always been considered a profession with high requirements towards its representatives (personal qualities, high level of education etc.). Many medical workers as representatives of the aiding professions are subject to a high risk of emotional exhaustion, which is defined with the term ‘burnout’ in literature. This fatigue turns out to be a global issue, related to the presence of distress, emerging in the process of performing work activities, which has a negative impact both on the psychological and the physical health of the person as well as on the efficiency of the organization. The emotional burnout syndrome can be viewed as a person’s inability to handle emotional stress at work. The burnout is negatively related to the personal health of the coworkers. The chronical occupational stress gradually causes disappointment in the profession, it leads to a desire to quit the job, causes demoralization and an inclination towards alcohol and drugs appears. What can be noticed is the decrease of personal resources to perform professional duties well, family conflicts as well as health-related ones and thе respective denial appear. Occupational burnout comes with a high price for the individual coworker as well as for the organization. It reduces labor productivity, leads to attrition, decreases the staff’s motivation to perform professional duties, which leads to decreasing work efficiency and the value of the coworkers for the organization. In addition, it negatively impacts the health of all team members. Burnout leads to a loss of productivity, mobility and competitiveness.