That
dreaded word: Burnout
Burnout is
very real in this field, and is common among social service occupations in
general.
The work
that we do, while extremely rewarding, can also be challenging, frustrating,
disappointing, and sometimes dangerous (such as with
aggressive clients). Since we are all only human, we are not immune to burnout.
Staff who
are experiencing burnout are sloppy at their work, they make careless mistakes,
they “go through the motions” without actually trying to connect with their
clients, or they are snippy and irritable where they should be patient and
persistent.
Sometimes
you can’t tell when you are burned out on a client, or on a job, and may think
you are just temporarily tired, overwhelmed, or stressed. It’s important to regularly monitor and assess your emotional state, because you won’t be
an effective professional when you are experiencing burnout and you also won’t
draw satisfaction and joy from your work. Ideally, management/supervisors will
be monitoring staff for signs and indications of burnout, and/or creating systems
intended to minimize burnout (such as small caseloads). However, I recommend
assessing yourself on a regular basis to be sure you aren't experiencing burnout.
I
have learned over the years to monitor my own emotional state to make sure
I am far away from reaching burnout levels. I know when to decline clients or
refer out, I know when to seek out help or feedback from my colleagues, and I
know how to maintain a healthy life/work balance…..but I didn’t start out in
this field knowing all of that.
So what
are some classic signs of Burnout?
- Not wanting to go to work, constantly calling in or arriving late
- Feeling constantly overwhelmed and/or chaotic at work
- Feeling ill-equipped to perform your job, feeling like you don’t know what you are doing
- Feeling that you aren’t making a difference….your job doesn’t “matter”
- Being constantly annoyed or aggravated by your clients/co-workers
- Productivity decreases…it takes you several minutes to start a task or you find it difficult to stay on task
Knowing
yourself and your own preferences or needs as a professional will help you
carve out a niche that works for you. Being mismatched in your career is an
almost guaranteed way to rapidly slide into burnout. Let’s say I love working
with adults in residential settings, but then I take a position working in a
K-2 Autism classroom. See what a mismatch that is? I’m not doing what my
preference is, I am not working within my skill set, and I may not enjoy my
work. I would feel a lack of professional autonomy, or that I am not in control
of my career and doing what I want to do. Over time, I may begin to feel that I
hate my job……I dislike my clients……or what I do doesn’t matter anyway. These
are all classic signs of burnout.
So what
can be done to prevent the dreaded Burnout? Lots of things!
- Active parental involvement- I will continue to say this over and over on my blog, because it is so critical. When staff are working hard to bring about lasting behavior change in a client, only to have successes derailed or see gains disappear due to no parental carry over, that can be an extremely frustrating feeling. Staff can quickly grow to feel as if they are building sand castles on the shore, if after their session is over no one else is requiring the child to talk, to use the bathroom, to share with their siblings, etc.
- Supervision & Support- All ABA professionals need support, including BCBA’s. Having a few colleagues you can go to for venting purposes or to pick their brains is so important. Lack of quality and regular supervision is one of the biggest indicators I see that leads to staff burnout. ABA direct staff absolutely needs an experienced supervisor working with them to make sure they have the support and resources they need to do their job effectively.
- Effective training- This is probably the 2nd biggest issue I see that leads to staff burnout. When staff are quickly hired, thrown into the field, and given minimal ongoing supervision, they have no confidence in their abilities/skills. Lack of confidence leads to low job satisfaction, because no one wants to feel like they are bad at their job. Effective training is empowering. It makes people feel better equipped to do their job.
- Recognize your area(s) of expertise- This is something I definitely grew to learn over time, but knowing your ideal work setting and ideal client will increase job satisfaction. Not everyone enjoys working with small children. Not everyone enjoys working with high functioning teens. Working within your area of expertise doesn’t just help you to provide the best quality of service; it keeps you enjoying your work.
- Low pay- Ask for the level of pay that you need to support yourself, and your family. I see so many new ABA therapists accepting pay rates that are far below what they need, for fear of not being able to find something better. You have to know how to sell yourself in an interview and demonstrate competency in your work, which can often lead management to agree to higher pay rates. ABA therapy can be a physically and emotionally draining job. If on top of that you also can’t pay your bills… that’s a sure recipe for burnout.
- Toxic work environment- A toxic or negative work environment will severely impact how much you enjoy your work. I have had past experiences of working with verbally abusive families, or egotistical supervisors, and it really made me dislike my job. I had to be mature enough to realize that I can’t function properly in a toxic environment. If there is consistent dysfunction in your work place, it may be time to leave.
- Inconsistent management expectations/client expectations- When the supervisor or family you are working with are constantly demanding more and more of you, yet never satisfied with the work you are putting out, that’s a quick way to slide into burnout. It’s frustrating and defeating to feel that you can’t please someone no matter what you do.
- Poor or NO data collection- Some therapists don’t realize this, but consistent data collection can actually serve as positive reinforcement. You may FEEL like the child is not improving, or that what you are doing is not effective but when you can see on a data sheet or graph that small successes are happening, that can be a huge source of motivation. If your client used to scream for 11 minutes and now they scream for 9 minutes, that is progress. Clearly something that you are doing is working, and is having an impact on the problem behavior. I also personally recommend collecting data when dealing with resistant or uninvolved parents. This has helped me immensely in the past. If a parent who used to only respond to my emails 25% of the time now starts responding to my emails 45% of the time that could really make me feel increased job satisfaction. Sometimes little successes are all you have, and they can keep you from feeling defeated.
*Suggested
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