Over the past decades, the problem of maintaining the mental health of a teacher in an educational institution has become especially acute.
High emotional involvement in activities, rigid time frames of activities (lesson, quarter, year), organizational moments of pedagogical activity (load, schedule, office) and responsibility to the administration, parents and society as a whole for the result of one’s work provokes the emergence of neurotic disorders and psychosomatic diseases . In the practice of educational institutions, the problem of professional maladaptation arises as a reflection of personal contradictions between the mobilization required from the teacher and the presence of internal energy resources that cause fairly stable negative (often unconscious) mental states, manifested in overstrain and overwork. In this regard, there is a need for theoretical and practical study of this issue.
There are tendencies to intensify the absorption of stimulant products; Nicotine or alcohol. - The last step is "despair" with possible suicidal thoughts. The process can be stopped at any time, but steps can also be skipped. An interested person no longer brings enthusiasm and joy to life. Burnout usually does not occur as a result of isolated traumatic experiences, but rather as a creeping emotional disturbance. In this context, mostly people who were once especially enthusiastic and idealistic, a person must have "ignited" once in order to "burn out".
First, let's look at the causes of this syndrome.
Since the personality of a person is a fairly holistic and stable structure, it is looking for original ways of protection from deformation arising from neuropsychic stress. One of the ways of such psychological protection is the syndrome of emotional burnout. The main cause of the syndrome is the discrepancy between the requirements for the employee and his real capabilities. Often the syndrome is caused by a discrepancy between the desire of employees to have a greater degree of independence, to determine the ways and methods of achieving the results for which they are responsible, and the harsh, irrational policy of the administration. The result of total control is the emergence of a sense of the futility of one's activities. The absence of appropriate remuneration for work is experienced by the employee as a non-recognition of his work, which can also lead to apathy, a decrease in emotional involvement in the affairs of the team, a feeling of injustice and, accordingly, to burnout.
Explanatory models of the problem of burnout go beyond the previous ideas. They are partly based on definitions and are used to solve problems that would be impossible or too expensive to do on the original. Explanatory models of the burnout syndrome are used to determine who suffers from burnout.
Exhibited and explained the joint actions of burnout professions in different professions. However, the model remains specific enough that differences between related phenomena such as stress, depression, or poor performance are clear.
Imagine a situation where a person has a discrepancy between their own ethical principles and the values and requirements that the work makes. If it is important for an employee to stay in this workplace, then gradually they become accustomed to violating their own principles, their emotional significance decreases.
Among other things, the main reasons for this are the loss of autonomy caused by broken conflicts with environment. The result of this is stress, which, if left unconscious, can be the cause of burnout. The starting point of a possible illness picture is the desire for a specific episode of action that describes the path from the actual state to the desired state, for example, the intern's intention to become director once. At best, the goal is achieved. The result is personal satisfaction.
The means used have led to success, and the goal can be a purposeful goal. However, interference may occur in an action sequence. Target impact - target difficulty - lack of reward - negative side effects, i.e. the negative side effects of success, for example. Peer distance when the target is reached.
As already mentioned, the CMEA acts as a psychological defense mechanism in response to psycho-traumatic influences. Burnout is partly a functional stereotype, since it allows a person to dose and economically spend energy resources.
This phenomenon is "contagious": those who are subject to SEB become cynics, negativists and pessimists who are under the same stress, they can quickly turn an entire group into a collection of "burnouts".
An anxiety episode that is not adequate enough is a prerequisite for the onset of the burnout process. All other burnout models - with the exception of integration - work with factors such as congestion and underpayment, the effect of which is not yet well understood. Unconscious experience should be in the foreground person concerned. That is why it is particularly suitable for diagnostic purposes in the context of burnout consultations. The course of the disease is not explained in detail, but opportunities for reading areas on which preventive measures should be taken.
Burnout syndrome is the most dangerous occupational disease of those who work with people: teachers, psychologists, doctors, social workers, journalists - all whose activities are impossible without communication.
Professional burnout is a syndrome that develops against the background of chronic stress and leads to the depletion of the emotional, energy and personal resources of a working person.
No model is based on the full width of the disease. A combination would be helpful. In order to reduce stress, stress and burnout, preventive measures need to be developed. The following are measures that protect vulnerable teachers from burnout, as well as strategies to intercept the effects of burnout syndrome.
These measures are important because the burnout syndrome affects not only the psychological situation of teachers, but also their environment. Teachers are concerned about mental fatigue, often with the same educational content often refuse teacher training and often lose their empathy. This behavior especially affects students. Weakening working conditions, violations, learning disabilities, fatigue and resignation from school are signs of students who have been taught by the burnt teacher for a long period of time.
Professional burnout occurs as a result of the internal accumulation of negative emotions without a corresponding "discharge" or "liberation" from them. From the point of view of the concept of stress (G. Selye), professional burnout is distress or the third stage of the general adaptation syndrome - the stage of exhaustion.
STAGES OF PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT
In the long term, this can affect a child's entire life. These facts illustrate the importance of prevention and intervention. For intervention and prevention, it is important to re-emphasize that the causes of burnout are not necessarily present in the teacher. Changes in professional activity and institutional conditions are also needed. Since each burnout case is individual, general measures cannot be presented.
Short-term success is achieved in workshops that reach a moment of happiness or change of attitude. This includes rules such as maintaining eye contact in conversation, speaking loudly and clearly, clear understanding demands, self-expression or an apology for teaching. First, individual symptoms and causes must be identified. This can be detected using special burnout tests or self-monitoring methods. If the reasons are found in a person, you can add colleagues who will follow the lessons and help in solving problems. "Together Instead of Alone" is the title of a book by Elmar Oswald whose central message is overcoming teachers' individual struggles.
Syndrome professional burnout develops gradually. It goes through three stages that can lead to professional unsuitability:
FIRST STAGE:
It begins with a muting of emotions, smoothing out the sharpness of feelings and the freshness of experiences; the specialist unexpectedly notices: everything seems to be fine so far, but ... boring and empty at heart;
As a team, you need to deal professionally with learning issues. Therefore, effective strategies can be developed independently as well as under guidance. However, a precondition for prevention and intervention is that the vulnerable or affected teacher is ready to change their life and identity. In everyday business, goals must be set and distinctions must be made between work and personal life. Also helpful is a healthy diet, exercise and the use of social support.
With regard to organizational and institutional strategies, changes in the professional environment are needed to prevent burnout. Teachers who are in a bad mental state should receive additional leave, since only teachers are tied to legally regulated holidays. The use of the "Sabbath year" is being seen more and more. Teachers may, after a certain period of service, suspend one year of study or refrain from the daily stresses of the teaching profession.
Positive emotions disappear, some detachment appears in relations with family members;
There is a state of anxiety, dissatisfaction; returning home, more and more often I want to say: “Don’t bother me, leave me alone!”
SECOND STAGE:
Misunderstandings arise with clients, a professional in the circle of his colleagues begins to speak with disdain about some of them;
The model is already being practiced in Rhineland-Palatinate, Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria. This provides an excellent opportunity for more professional satisfaction. The model calls for spending a quarter of the salary for three years and then exiting for a year at equal pay. However, in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Sabbath year was mostly used by later teachings, with men and women equally represented.
Only by treating both levels simultaneously can lasting effects be achieved in people with burnout and in those who have been affected. Literature, and therefore attempts to prevent and overcome stressors in a teacher's life, is on the increase.
Dislike begins to gradually manifest itself in the presence of clients - at first it is a hard-to-control antipathy, and then outbursts of irritation. Such behavior of a professional is an unconscious manifestation of a sense of self-preservation during communication that exceeds a level that is safe for the body.
THIRD STAGE:
Ideas about the values of life are dulled, the emotional attitude to the world is “flattened”, a person becomes dangerously indifferent to everything, even to his own life;
The subjective perception of working conditions and the manageability of the situation are of decisive importance. An essential condition for the occurrence of burnout is the lack of feedback with success. An important reason for this is that teachers, for example, find that their personal efforts are unsuccessful in the case of students who are not interested. An important learning for vulnerable individuals is that there can be no guarantee of success in the teaching profession and that success cannot be reliably influenced. Excellent preparation is no guarantee of successful learning.
Such a person, out of habit, can still retain outward respectability and some aplomb, but his eyes lose the sparkle of interest in anything, and an almost physically tangible cold of indifference settles in his soul.
THREE ASPECTS OF PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT
FIRST - a decrease in self-esteem.
As a result, such "burnt out" workers feel helpless and apathetic. Over time, this can turn into aggression and despair.
The teacher is not always responsible for reluctant and anxious students. There are, for example, persistent stressors, such as puberty adolescents, that need to be treated first. Despite the obvious problems, there are still too few systematic studies in the literature. Issues such as factors that ultimately help drive the process of burnout in schools and infiltrate. Or in what proportion interdependent factors are interconnected and what factors and conditions contribute as predictors of conditions or non-occurrence of burnout.
SECOND - loneliness.
People suffering from emotional burnout are unable to establish normal contact with clients. Object-to-object relations prevail.
THIRD - emotional exhaustion, somatization.
Fatigue, apathy and depression that accompany emotional burnout lead to serious physical ailments - gastritis, migraines, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc.
The reason for the uncertainty about sound knowledge in this complex area is also the fact that teachers were asked too little about these issues. There is also great potential in areas such as collaboration, school autonomy and new media.
Possible entry points for intervention in burnout can be systematically derived from the results of this work. This can be done with an individual, a group or an institution. In principle, however, it is important that the person concerned copes with the threat of school situations, both in terms of self-understanding and with the resources and competencies available.
SYMPTOMS OF PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT
FIRST GROUP:
Psychophysical symptoms
Feeling of constant fatigue, not only in the evenings, but also in the mornings, immediately after sleep (a symptom of chronic fatigue);
Feeling emotional and physical exhaustion;
Decreased susceptibility and reactivity due to changes in the external environment (lack of curiosity reaction to the novelty factor or fear reaction to a dangerous situation);
Burnout syndrome is a type of stress called chronic. Burnout syndrome is characterized by progressive physical and mental exhaustion, lack of absolute motivation for tasks performed, and particularly important behavioral changes in those who suffer. This change in attitude, usually associated with "bad manners" towards others or with unpleasant treatment, is one of the key characteristics for identifying a case of burnout.
This syndrome is usually more common in jobs that involve caring for third parties, such as teachers, health care workers, or people who work in customer service, and can be a cause for leaving work as there comes a time when the employee is physically and mentally unable to develop their work.
General asthenia (weakness, decreased activity and energy, deterioration of blood biochemistry and hormonal parameters);
Frequent causeless headaches; persistent disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
Sudden loss or sudden weight gain;
Complete or partial insomnia;
Constant lethargy, drowsiness and desire to sleep throughout the day;
Bradley and was originally called "state burnout" to refer to the strange behavior of some police officers working with juvenile delinquents. Later, in the decade of the 70s, Herbert Freudenberger deepened this phenomenon and included the term "burnout" in the field of work psychology. Herbert, who volunteered at a drug clinic in New York, was able to observe how many of his peers, one to three years after starting work there, suffered from loss of energy and motivation along with symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
Shortness of breath or shortness of breath during physical or emotional stress;
A marked decrease in external and internal sensory sensitivity: deterioration of vision, hearing, smell and touch, loss of internal, bodily sensations.
SECOND GROUP:
Socio-psychological symptoms:
Indifference, boredom, passivity and depression (low emotional tone, feeling of depression);
Jackson defined burnout syndrome as "a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and less personal satisfaction that occurs in people who work in contact with customers and users." can be found among them. Often the worker is irritable and in a bad mood. In many cases, good manners disappear and unnecessary conflicts are generated with clients and users. Suspicion or "protection" and sarcasm are common.
Sometimes this change of attitude takes place in a completely different sense, in which the worker simply shows indifference to customers or users, and even to colleagues. Demotivation: The worker loses all illusion to work. Goals and objectives give way to frustration and the thought of having to endure day-to-day stressful situations that exceed their capabilities, and each working day becomes long and endless.
Increased irritability to minor, petty events;
Frequent nervous breakdowns (outbursts of unmotivated anger or refusal to communicate, withdrawal into oneself);
Constant experience negative emotions for which there are no reasons in the external situation (feelings of guilt, resentment, shame, suspicion, constraint);
Feeling of unconscious anxiety and increased anxiety (feeling that "something is not right");
Feeling of hyper-responsibility and a constant feeling of fear, “what will not work out” or “I won’t cope”;
A general negative attitude towards life and professional prospects (like “no matter how hard you try, nothing will work out anyway”).
THIRD GROUP:
behavioral symptoms
Feeling that the work is getting harder and harder and harder and harder to do;
Constantly, unnecessarily, takes work home, but does not do it at home;
The leader finds it difficult to make decisions;
Feeling worthless, disbelief in improvement, decreased enthusiasm for work, indifference to results;
Failure to fulfill important priorities and "getting stuck" on small details, spending most of the working time in a little conscious or unconscious performance of automatic and elementary actions inappropriate for official requirements;
Distance from employees and customers, increasing inadequate criticality;
Alcohol abuse, a sharp increase in cigarettes smoked per day, the use of narcotic drugs.
An analysis of mental states during the manifestation of BS shows that emotional burnout is a complex condition that includes several components that have a negative emotional connotation. It is non-equilibrium and deviates from the optimal level both towards a decrease in mental activity and towards an increase.
Working with teachers is a very important direction of accompanying the educational process. In connection with the transition to the Federal State Educational Standard, teachers need psychological support, since the introduction of any innovation for many teachers can be accompanied by stress, emotional and nervous overload. This is due to the fact that it can be difficult for teachers to adapt to the new conditions dictated by modern education, especially those who have a fairly long work experience.
The emergence of new requirements for the design of documentation, the introduction of children with disabilities into the basic classes, the introduction of interactive teaching methods, open lessons, participation in competitions and other related factors put the modern teacher in completely new conditions that exacerbate their already intense activity.
It is known that an emotionally balanced teacher, who copes with his tasks, perceives his students more adequately and fairly, is more friendly in communicating with them and their parents. A calm teacher is not only able to give knowledge according to the program, but is also able to form and develop UUD by organizing a pedagogical space, using in his practice methods, techniques and techniques of an individually personal approach to teaching each child. A teacher who does not experience emotional difficulties, work is a pleasure, such a teacher creatively and lovingly fulfills his duties. Preserving the mental health of students is impossible without working with teachers in this direction.
We decided to start the study of this problem with a survey of the teaching staff of the school. According to our observations and research, teachers are often inclined to give preference to the intellectual achievements of schoolchildren, and inner world insufficient attention is given to the student. For example, the existing system for assessing students' knowledge, their achievements and successes forms an inadequate self-assessment of students. At the beginning of my professional career and to this day, teachers often ask for diagnostics in a particular class of just some kind of intellectual parameters. Or there is a request from the teacher to investigate the level of development of a child who is not coping with the curriculum.
An analysis of requests allows us to draw another, not unimportant, conclusion: the teacher is often hindered by the child's behavior in the classroom, which he regards as inadequate, unacceptable. For example, the child behaves aggressively or is disorganized or slow in completing tasks. Of course, there are exceptional teachers who are sensitive to the problems of students, and this fact is inspiring. Such teachers often use an individual approach in their work and most often turn to a school psychologist for help, trying to understand the child and help him overcome difficulties in learning or in adaptation.
In order to identify such difficulties in the work of teachers, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire, the instructions for which were as follows: “What difficulties in pedagogical activity do you most often encounter in your work (you select several options from the list)?” (see annex 9). This questionnaire is our author's work and compiled independently.
41 teachers took part in the survey. The main difficulties in the work of teachers are:
1. Disorganization of students, which interferes with work - 63% of the teachers surveyed.
2. Inadequate behavior of students (aggressiveness, anxiety, irascibility, talkativeness) - 46% of respondents.
3. Low learning motivation - 44%.
In addition, 36% of primary and secondary teachers believe that poor knowledge of the subject is a problem in teaching. It is interesting that none of the teachers noted that it was difficult for themselves to have some personal problems of the student associated with crisis, age-related moments in the development of the student's personality.
Thus, we see that to this day, school teachers pay the most attention precisely to the organizational, behavioral and intellectual characteristics of students and attach little importance to true reasons student failure. Exaggerated requirements for abilities, ignoring age characteristics often form in students a negative attitude towards learning, towards school, negative thinking in general and an attitude towards themselves as a student.
How to deal with professional burnout?
Stress and a high pace of life accompany most of us throughout the year. In the spring, chronic fatigue is often added to this, caused by a lack of sunlight and vitamins. All this can lead to the so-called professional burnout syndrome. Even the most successful specialists are not immune from the loss of interest in the profession.
To prevent your once-favorite job from turning into hard labor, follow the advice of Superjob.ru.
groundhog day
As soon as you take your head off the pillow, you sluggishly wander into the bathroom, remembering with horror that today is only Tuesday, which means that the weekend is still far away. Standing in a traffic jam on your way to the office, mentally scold narrow roads, broken traffic lights and inattentive pedestrians. Already an hour after the start of work, you feel tired, any business requires serious tension from you. Everything annoys you - colleagues, boss, reports, emails and even a pen with the company logo. You look at your watch more and more in anticipation of the evening ...
Finally, the work day is over. After spending a couple more hours in a traffic jam or the subway, you return home, but to cope with bad mood not even in the family circle. You go to sleep with the sad realization that tomorrow everything will be the same again.
Did you recognize yourself? Work no longer makes you happy, and communication with prospective clients does not inspire you? If you feel that life has turned into a continuous groundhog day, then most likely there is a so-called professional burnout syndrome - the depletion of the emotional resources of a working person against the background of chronic fatigue and stress. HR managers call this phenomenon demotivation.
At-risk groups
Who is more at risk of "burning out" at work? There are several risk groups. Firstly, these are specialists who work with people on a daily basis - teachers, doctors, journalists, PR people, account managers, recruiters, salespeople, etc. Agree, it’s not easy to meet with the most diverse representatives of humanity every day from year to year , listen carefully to them and try to help them, not always receiving gratitude in return.
Secondly, introverts can “burn out” at work, that is, those who keep all their experiences in themselves without splashing out emotions on others. Finding himself in a stressful or uncomfortable situation for himself, such a person will not express dissatisfaction for a long time, accumulating negativity. Chronic fatigue and professional burnout often become a natural consequence of this.
Finally, another category of workers who are at risk of burnout are perfectionists, that is, those who always strive to do their job the best. A "red" university diploma, successful independent projects, victories in professional competitions - all this is given to perfectionists not for beautiful eyes, but is the result of daily hard work. Several years of work with almost no days off often turn into a syndrome of professional burnout.
Who rests well, he works well
So, if you notice such signs as irritation in relation to your once beloved work, dislike for colleagues, a sense of routine, chronic fatigue, insomnia, or, conversely, drowsiness, lethargy, then it's time to take care of your condition. Otherwise (sadly, but this is a scientific fact), daily stress can lead to a serious deterioration in health - systematic headaches, gastritis, hypertension, heart problems, etc.
How to prevent this and regain simple joys - inspiration before starting a new business, satisfaction from what has been done, a real drive from work? It is best to start your own rehabilitation program with rest. How long have you been on vacation - with travel, sea, delicious food and sun? By the way, it has been proven that a long absence of the sun in itself provokes depression in people. What can we say about the mental state of office dwellers, sometimes for months "sunbathing" under the light of a computer monitor!
So take a vacation if possible. Beach or ski trips with children, fishing alone or a spa with a girlfriend, conquering mountain rivers or excursions to cities and countries - there are many ways to get new impressions and rejuvenate. Choose the one you like best.
Learn, learn and learn
A good remedy against professional burnout is an increase in the educational level. Think about what knowledge you lack in your work. In what direction would you like to develop? For example, if your specialty is PR and you are in charge of public relations in an investment company, why not move up a notch by acquiring an economics degree as well? Studying will not only drive away the blues, but also open up new horizons in your work, and provide an opportunity for career growth.
If you don’t need a second higher education, think about trainings, advanced training courses, seminars, conversational language clubs, etc. Sometimes even banal English courses give an amazing boost of energy: you meet new people, raise your language level, and at the same time take a break from work, because a change of activity is the best rest. In addition, investments in education are the most reliable.
Update workplace
A much simpler, but surprisingly effective way to combat burnout is to change your workplace. You can offer to swap places with a colleague, you can just move your table and chair a little. Throw away unnecessary papers, clean up your computer folders, dust where the cleaning lady doesn't, and you'll be surprised how much easier it becomes to breathe.
If possible, if it is not prohibited by company rules, add pleasant little things to this - for example, a houseplant in a pot, a photo of loved ones, etc. It will become much more pleasant to be at work. Of course, the fight against professional burnout is not limited to one cleaning at the workplace - this method is good in combination with others.
Workout
Scientists have proven that regular fitness classes contribute to the production of hormones of joy. Make time for sports in your busy schedule. Let it be what you love - Eastern dance or yoga, swimming or volleyball. The joy of movement will transform your life - more strength will appear, including for work. Even if you do not have the opportunity to regularly visit a sports club, do not deny yourself at least walking, cycling or rollerblading. Relax, recharge your batteries, and there the working mood will appear.
Talk to the boss
If you feel that, despite all the measures taken, you still don’t want to go to work, that you can’t do past labor exploits, it may be time for a frank conversation with your manager. Surely he has already noticed your mood and the decrease in the efficiency of your work. Explain that you are tired of the monotony (or, on the contrary, of excessive diversity) in your work, you want to change something in your life, you have sat in one place ...
An adequate boss will appreciate your frankness, especially since the motivation of the staff is most likely part of his duties. The boss may well help you: for example, provide more opportunities for creativity, send you on an interesting business trip, entrust a new project - in a word, make sure that you can show your talents to the maximum and feel ownership of the company's success.
change jobs
Finally, the last, most radical remedy for professional burnout is a job change. Sometimes it is better to sacrifice a place in the company than to bring yourself to a state of absolute rejection of the profession. So if, despite the efforts made, you do not see prospects for yourself, are tired of the routine, do not feel opportunities for self-realization, it may be time to post your resume on employment sites. And find a job that will give you pleasure.
Sincerely, Snezhana Pachko
