When to take care of others… burns inside

Post written in collaboration with @pedagogista_erminiasolito

Introduction

The rapid economic and cultural transformations of recent decades, amplified by globalization and technological acceleration, have profoundly changed the structure of work and the identity dynamics of workers. In the “liquid society” (Bauman, 2011), characterized by uncertainty and precariousness, professionals live in an unstable balance between flexibility and vulnerability. The neoliberal model of production, oriented towards competitiveness and performance, imposes ever-increasing rates, reducing the possibilities for self-regulation and self-care.

The increase in skills requirements, the reduction of economic resources, and the erosion of the collective sense of belonging create a highly stress-inducing work environment (Morin, 2004). The lack of social recognition and the perception of being easily replaceable compromise the sense of personal effectiveness, favoring progressive psychological attrition. This condition of chronic stress can degenerate into burnout syndrome, defined as a form of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion that affects an individual’s well-being and the quality of services provided.

From stress to burnout

The term stress is of metallurgical origin and originally refers to the ability of materials to resist external forces without breaking (Cabib & Puglisi, 2003). The adaptation of the concept to the physiology and psychology of work is due to Hans Selye, who in 1936 defined stress as “a nonspecific response of the organism to any request made on it” (cit. in Frascheri, 2006, p. 17). Stress, therefore, represents an adaptive mechanism in the face of environmental stimuli, but when the stimulus persists over time and individual resources are exhausted, it can transform into a pathological condition.

Selye (1974) developed the General Adaptation Syndrome (GA) model, identifying three phases: alarm reaction, in which the organism prepares to face the stressor; resistance phase, in which the individual tries to adapt; and exhaustion phase, in which resources are exhausted, causing permanent psychophysical disorders (Rossati & Magro, 2000). Subsequently, occupational psychology explored the subjective dimension of stress, highlighting the importance of cognitive and relational factors. It is not the stimulus itself that generates stress, but the interpretation that the subject gives of the event (Weis, 1972).

In the 1940s and 1950s, research began to link work-related distress to organizational and social factors (Bitterman, 1994). Cooper and Marshall (1998) classified the main sources of stress: work-intrinsic factors (physical conditions, excessive loads, noise), role in the organization, interpersonal relationships, career development, and organizational climate. The persistence of such conditions produce, over time, a maladaptive response known as burnout (Cherniss, 1980).

The term burnout, literally “burned”, was introduced in the United States to describe the exhaustion observed among help professionals. Rossati and Magro (2000) define it as a condition of progressive attrition caused by an imbalance between resources and demands. Maslach (1976, cit. in Iurlaro, 2010) describes it as an occupational disease that mainly affects the most motivated operators, driven by a strong sense of responsibility and idealism.

Maslach and Leiter (1999) highlight that burnout can arise in any profession characterized by high relational or emotional intensity. In Italy, despite European Directive 89/391/EEC and legislative decrees on safety (Legislative Decree 62/94; Legislative Decree 81/08), it is not yet recognized as an occupational disease by INAIL. This contributes to a fragmented management of the problem, leaving responsibility to the individual (INAIL, 2017). Burnout, however, must be interpreted as a collective and systemic symptom (Fiore, 2019; Capobianco, 2019), an expression of an organizational and cultural discomfort that involves the entire system of work relationships.

Features and theoretical models

Maslach (1982) defines burnout as an emotional and behavioral response to the chronic imbalance between demands and resources. It represents a form of “relationship stress” (Maslach, 1997) and manifests itself with exhaustion, apathy, cynicism, and reduced personal effectiveness. According to Cherniss (1989), burnout is a dysfunctional coping strategy that harms both the worker and the organization. Literature identifies three fundamental dimensions (Maslach & Jackson, 1981):

• Emotional exhaustion, characterized by chronic fatigue and loss of energy.

• Depersonalization which involves a detached and impersonal attitude towards users or colleagues.

• Reduced personal fulfillment, marked by a decline in motivation, self-esteem, and a sense of effectiveness.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the reference tool for assessing burnout (Maslach & Jackson, 1981). Subsequent revisions (Leiter & Maslach, 2005) have expanded its application to educational services as well. Burnout, moreover, has been interpreted as the negative pole of a continuum that opposes work engagement (work engagement) to disaffection (Schaufeli & Taris, 2005).

Other theoretical models, such as Hobfoll's (1989) on resource conservation, emphasize that the prolonged loss of material, social, or psychological resources increases the risk of burnout. The most recent research (Bakker & Demerouti, 2017) integrates this perspective into the Job Demands–Resources Model, according to which well-being depends on the balance between professional demands and personal resources.

Symptoms and causes

Burnout manifests itself with a broad spectrum of symptoms that can vary in intensity and duration. ISPESL (2008) distinguishes three main categories: behavioral, psychosomatic, and psychic.

• Behavioral symptoms: disengagement, absenteeism, interpersonal conflict, self-destructive or aggressive behaviors towards users and colleagues (Alborea-Flòrez & Holly, 1991; Leiter & Maslach, 2003).

• Psychosomatic symptoms: sleep disorders, headaches, gastritis, dermatitis, and muscle pain (Del Rio, 1990).

• Psychic symptoms: demotivation, loss of concentration, collapse of self-esteem, apathy, and depression (Leiter & Maslach, 2000).

Del Rio (1990) identifies three macro-categories of causes: individual, organizational, and socio-cultural factors.

Individual factors include personality, age, gender, empathy, and self-esteem (Maslach, 1997; Farber, 1983).

• Organizational factors include excessive workloads, role ambiguity and conflict, and poor support from colleagues and superiors (Martin, 1984; Pines & Kafry, 1978).

• Socio-cultural factors arise from social changes and “narcissistic culture” (Lasch, 1979), which extols individual productivity at the expense of collective well-being (Bauman, 2011).

• In the educational context, lack of social recognition and perceived ineffectiveness are the main risk factors. The syndrome manifests itself as a slow process of loss of meaning, in which the original commitment turns into detachment and helplessness (Maslach, 1997).

Most vulnerable subjects

Several studies have analyzed demographic variables that influence vulnerability to burnout. Maslach (1997) argues that young professionals, characterized by enthusiasm and idealistic expectations, are more exposed, while Rossati and Magro (1999) detect an increase in risk with advancing age and years of service. Converso et al. (2015) confirm that the average age represents the moment of greatest fragility, as professionals must reconcile experience, tiredness and unmet expectations.

Women are more prone to burnout, often due to the double burden of professional and family work (Rossati & Magro, 1999). The presence of a stable emotional network and children, however, represents a protective factor, as it allows for the development of greater emotional regulation. Educational attainment also plays an ambiguous role: those with high qualifications may more easily develop frustration at non-recognition, while those with more modest training may experience a sense of inadequacy (Maslach, 1997). Finally, transcultural studies (Maslach & Jackson, 1981) show how collectivist cultures, based on solid family networks, offer greater resilience against burnout.

Burnout in preschool educators

Burnout particularly affects educational professions, where relationships with others are at the heart of activity. Working in nursery schools involves constant contact with young children, parents and colleagues, requiring intense emotional investment (Guerra & Luciano, 2014). Mortari (2006) highlights how the ability to care requires the conscious management of one's emotional experiences to tolerate relational load and use it as an educational tool.

Bertolini (1996) talks about educational risk to describe the unpredictability inherent in any training relationship. The educator operates under conditions of uncertainty, where the outcome of the intervention is never guaranteed. This puts you at risk of failure and, therefore, burnout. Schaufeli (2001) defines burnout in educators as “a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged involvement in emotionally demanding work situations”. Converso (2015) reiterates the close correlation between the well-being of educators and the quality of the services offered, underlining the responsibility of organizations in promoting healthy contexts (Maggiolini, Zanfroni, & d'Alonzo, 2017).

Whitebook (1982) and Freudenberger (1974) were among the first to study burnout in children's services, describing symptoms such as irritability, apathy, and a sense of ineffectiveness. The most recent research (Bosi, 2020; Milani, 2017) confirms that the nursery educator is exposed to particularly high emotional, cognitive, and physical pressures.

Specific causes in educators

Iori (2003) and Augelli, Bruzzone, and Musi (2010) identify three levels of factors that contribute to educational burnout (Cavalluzzi & Degli Esposti, 2018):

• Structural level – includes work overload, resource scarcity, inadequate environments, and low wages.

• Personal level – concerns expectations, representations, and the gap between ideal work and everyday reality (Becchi, 2005; Bondioli, 2000).

• Interactional level – includes relationships with children, parents, and colleagues, which can act as protective or risk factors.

Aggravating factors include inadequate spatial organization (Maslach, 1997; Rossati & Magro, 1999), musculoskeletal disorders resulting from incorrect postures (Erick & Smith, 2017; Camerino, Fichera, & Punzi, 2001), and difficulties in emotional regulation in daily interactions (Bosi, 2020).

Emotion management represents one of the most complex challenges in educational work. Educators must learn to recognize and regulate their emotions to avoid projecting them onto children (Musi, 2011). Intense childhood emotions, such as crying or anger, can activate deep experiences and generate stress in adults (Cavalluzzi & Degli Esposti, 2018). Neuroscience has shown that infant crying stimulates brain areas related to attention and cognitive control (Swain, 2007), increasing psychological tension. Anger, on the other hand, can undermine the professional identity of the educator, generating guilt and helplessness (Winnicott, 1964).

To prevent such situations, it is essential to provide spaces for reflection and pedagogical supervision, where the educational team can discuss their experiences (Converso, 2015). From this perspective, burnout becomes an “alarm bell” that signals the need for organizational and personal change (Fiore, 2019).

Burnout in psychologists

The phenomenon of burnout in psychologists represents one of the most complex expressions of the syndrome, as it involves professionals whose primary function is to take care of the mental health of others. The very nature of psychological work –characterized by intense empathy, ongoing exposure to suffering, and high ethical responsibility– carries a specific risk of emotional exhaustion and loss of professional effectiveness (Rupert & Morgan, 2005).

Psychologists often work in relationship-intensive settings, where listening to and managing the emotions of others requires a constant balance between engagement and detachment. Such a balance is fragile, however: excessive identification can lead to so-called “emotional contagion” or compassion fatigue, a form of empathic fatigue that reduces the ability to provide effective support (Figley, 2002). According to Maslach and Leiter (2016), difficulty maintaining clear professional boundaries and lack of supervision represent key factors of vulnerability to burnout in clinical psychologists.

Rupert, Miller, and Dorociak (2015) highlight how burnout in this category manifests itself mainly through emotional exhaustion and reduced personal accomplishment, more than in the depersonalization typical of other helping professions. This is because psychologists tend to internalize patients' difficulties, experiencing a sense of ineffectiveness and helplessness when they fail to produce tangible improvements. This condition is often amplified by an organizational context characterized by excessive workloads, contractual precariousness, and professional isolation (Benevene et al., 2020).

Burnout in psychologists is also influenced by personal variables, such as a tendency toward perfectionism, a high sense of responsibility, and poor delegation skills (Puente & Beardslee, 2001). These traits, while functional to care, can become risk factors if not accompanied by adequate emotional self-regulation. Research by Edwards and Richards (2019) shows that psychologists who overinvest in the work dimension and neglect the personal one are more prone to chronic stress and related somatic symptoms.

Professional supervision is a further critical aspect. It constitutes an important protective factor, as it allows us to process the emotions and difficulties encountered in the therapeutic relationship (Skovholt & Trotter-Mathison, 2014). However, the lack of space for discussion and support among colleagues can amplify the feeling of isolation and exclusive responsibility for patients' well-being (Norcross & Guy, 2007).

The COVID-19 pandemic has further increased the risk of burnout among psychologists. Several studies (Barello, Palamenghi, & Graffigna, 2020) have documented a significant increase in stress, anxiety, and feelings of ineffectiveness among mental health professionals, forced to adapt quickly to remote work and manage their own and other people's emotional vulnerability.

In conclusion, burnout in psychologists is an intrinsic risk to the care profession, fueled by individual, relational, and organizational factors. Preventing it means promoting self-care practices, strengthening clinical supervision, and fostering a culture of emotional sustainability in helping professions (Rupert & Dorociak, 2019).

Conclusions

Burnout represents a complex and current challenge for educational professionals. It is not only the result of individual stress, but a systemic indicator of organizational malfunction and lack of social support. Recognizing it means addressing structural causes, valuing ongoing training, supervision, and relationship care in work contexts.

From a pedagogical perspective, burnout prevention requires promoting spaces for emotional reflection, cooperative work, and mutual support among colleagues. Educational organizations must take responsibility for staff well-being, fostering the construction of relational environments based on trust, communication, and professional recognition.

Burnout, therefore, is not only a pathology of fatigue but a sign of possible transformation. As Fiore (2019) argues, the moment of crisis can become an opportunity for personal and collective regeneration, transforming exhaustion into awareness and discomfort into evolutionary opportunities.

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