Personal Characteristics as a Source of Compassion Fatigue-Burnout

Persons entering the helping professions often have high needs for approval and heightened expectations
for themselves (Maslach, 2003). By having an enhanced self-concept, these persons may overcommit
their time and energy, and eventually become burdened by fatigue resulting in fewer rewards for their
increased labour. Prior to burnout, these individuals are seen as being highly competent and aggressive,
and they are respected by both their patients and their colleagues (Maslach, 2003). The emotional
intensity of involvement with people, the negative focus on problems, the lack of positive feedback, or poor
peer contact with the job setting are some of the eternal factors than can elicit compassion fatigue leading
to burnout (Maslach, 2003). Maslach (2003) also asserts that internal factors play an important role as
well. What a person brings by way of individual characteristics are motivations, needs, self-esteem,
emotional expressiveness and control, and personal style. Thus, personality and other personal qualities
have a very significant part to play in burnout. Maslach (2003) suggests what we should focus our inquiry
on, is to learn what makes someone more susceptible to burnout and to understand why this should be so.
Lets take a look at some demographics and how they relate to the vulnerability of a caregiver or provider.
Demographics
Sex/Gender:

Women

Men

Ethic Background:
Asian-Americans
Blacks:

Native Americans, Latinos:

Age:

Overall trends among men and women are fairly similar.

Different occupational roles may create different patterns of
burnout between the sexes due to contact with patients, power,
and status of position.
There is something about the personal qualities that distinguish
the two sexes that makes depersonalization more of a problem for
men, and emotional exhaustion more a problem for women.
-experience more Emotional Exhaustion
Stereotyped: nurturant, sociable, sensitive to peoples feelings.
Occupation: most women are nurses, social workers, counselors
-experience more Depersonalization, Callous Feelings
about the people they work with
Stereotyped: hard, tough, unemotional (big boys dont cry)
Occupation: most men are physicians, police officers,
psychiatrists
Studies have been mostly centered on Caucasians.
Slightly more emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, somewhat
lower sense of accomplishment in their work with people.
Do not burn as much, less emotional exhaustion and much less
depersonalization, more assertive, and spontaneity, deal with
people better even in emotionally charged situations. Thought to
be due to experiences in their lives e.g., discrimination and
poverty, have a greater emphasis on family & friendship
networks, rapping with other involves emotional expression,
confrontation, personal feedback and resolution of conflicts.
Insufficient data-need further study. What result compiled
pattern closer to the Black experience.
Greatest when people-workers are younger lower in older
workers.
Older consisted wiser, more stable and mature, more balanced
perspective.
Youth more likely to burnout in first few years of career and
leave the profession. Problem for studying group because they
have left the profession. The older-workers are the survivorsbattled on and managed to handle the early threat of burnout.

Marital & Family Status:

Singles and childless experience burnout the most and divorced

fall in between. Childless employees reported more emotional
exhaustion and depersonalization.
With family more supportive network, love, needs fulfilled, less
concerns about job security, salary, benefits. Childless freer to
move and change jobs and work is a source of personal social life
whereas family fulfills many of the personal needs-better
adjustment.

Education:

Professional helpers are highly educated group on whole.

Providers with college education show the most
depersonalization and least personal accomplishment and more
emotional exhaustion. High degree of emotional exhaustion for
providers with postgraduate training. Overall, less burnout with
providers with less education. Education and occupation are
interrelated. Most highly trained helpers experience emotional
exhaustion by way of the nature of their jobs but training has
equipped them to cope more successfully. Higher educationhigher expectations.

Personality:

Burnout does not occur for all of people all of the time.
Everyone is at risk, to some extent, if the emotional stress of
the work becomes excessive, but those with certain personal
make-up will be even more so at any given level of work
stress.
Need to consider each of these following characteristics (selfconcept, personal needs, personal motivations, emotional control)
separately to get a more complete understanding of how they are
linked to the burnout syndrome. Emotional apathy is akin to
wearing weak, unassertive, submissive, anxious, fearful of
involvement, difficulty setting limits within the helping
relationship and unable to assert control over a situation,
passively yields to demands. Become overburdened, and risk of
emotional exhaustion High.
Someone who is impatient, intolerant, easily angered and
frustrated by obstacles, difficulty controlling hostile impulsesyour heart on your sleeve-your feelings and concerns are up front
and very visible, but they are very vulnerable as well. With
repeated bruising, the heart may get too hard and calloused to feel
much any more, and dont give a care anymore or it hurts too
much to care
Personality means-essential characteristics of an individual: the
mental, emotional, social qualities or traits that combine into a
unique whole. Ones interpersonal style, method of handling
problems, expression and control of emotions, and conception of
self, are all aspects of personality that have special significance
towards vulnerability and burnout. We need to go beyondcertain people do burn out and discover just what kind of people
they are.
The Burnout prone, according to Gann & Heckman (1979-80)Project feelings on patients, depersonalize and derogatory ways.
Someone who lacks self-confidence, little ambition, more
reserved and conventional.

Reference: Maslach, C. (2003). Burnout. The cost of caring. Malor Books. Cambridge MA.