Did you know that in 2019, “burnout” was classified as an official medical condition by the World Health Organization (WHO)? The burnout diagnosis, according to the World Health Organization, is defined as a “syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
Burnout is sometimes referred to as compassion fatigue, especially among health care providers, service members, and first responders, who are often witness to painful or traumatic moments on the job.
Caregiving is tough work, and it can weigh on even the strongest and most resilient employees physically, mentally, and emotionally. In this article, we’ll discuss ways providers can recognize the symptoms of caregiver burnout, steps they can take to prevent it, and offer tips for coping with and healing from this serious and all-too-common health condition.
In order to proactively prevent and treat burnout in caregivers, it’s critical to understand how and why burnout happens in the first place.
Burnout can occur when caregivers don’t get the support they need, or if they try to do more than they can reasonably handle. Specifically, factors that lead to burnout may include:
Unrealistic Expectations: Given the amount of care, emotion, and energy they put into their work, many caregivers expect their involvement to have a positive effect on the patient’s health and well-being. Unfortunately, caregivers may witness the opposite effect with time—especially in cases where the patient is suffering from progressive diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
Role Confusion: Entering the role of a caregiver can be confusing, as it tends to be an all-consuming job. In consumer-directed environments, it can be difficult for a person to separate their role as a caregiver from their role as a spouse, lover, child, friend, or in another close relationship.
Lack of Control: Not having the money, resources, and skills to most effectively care for their patients can leave caregivers feeling defeated and depressed.
Unreasonable Demands: While some caregivers place excessive pressure upon themselves, it’s common for the family members or loved ones of those they’re caring for to expect more from aides than reasonably possible. This can become overwhelming for caregivers, and may also trigger feelings of guilt and inadequacy.
Holidays: Though the holidays can be a stressful time for everyone, they can prove particularly challenging for caregivers. Their patients may feel depressed around the holidays if it’s the first year after a spouse has died, or there may be holiday traditions that they look forward to but can no longer participate in.
According to the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which has been recognized for more than a decade as the leading measure of burnout, the condition can be divided into three main components:
These feelings may surface as the following symptoms:
“As an agency, we typically start noticing burnout if the caregivers are not acting themselves,” said Catharine Weaber, Vice President of Strategy and Development at Honor Health Network. “This could mean they are more tired, calling off, not performing tasks as well, or appearing depressed or moody. Sometimes, a client might call in to give us a hint. Clients tend to notice signs and symptoms earlier because they see the caregiver more frequently and know their personality and routine.”
While we all have different stressors in life, caregivers take on the stressors of another individual—and that load can become too much to handle.
“Caregivers are often caring for a loved one, or someone through an agency to whom they become close,” said Weaber. “There are a lot of emotions around change in condition regarding health and the aging process, and it can be very difficult to see someone you care about decline.”
A decline in health, or getting older, can also require a higher level of care, which can be physically strenuous for the caregiver. Caregivers are so busy caring for others, they often forget or simply lose the time to care for themselves.
Certain stresses of homecare are inevitable, but there are steps providers can take to prepare their caregivers for common challenges on the job and lessen the risk of them burning out.
While it’s typically not as easy as “bouncing back”, burnout is treatable!
Be mindful that caregivers may try to push through the burnout, especially if they’re struggling financially, but that will only exacerbate the problem. Kindly remind your caregivers that in order to do their job well, they need to be well!
“During the safety instructions on a flight, the attendants always say, ‘Secure your own oxygen mask before trying to help others,’” Weaber said. “That’s because you can’t assist someone else, if you are not well. The same thing applies to caregiving. If a caregiver is struggling personally, they cannot be the best caregiver to others.”
As a provider, do your best to create an environment where caregivers feel comfortable approaching you or another appropriate member of your staff if they’re facing an issue on the job. Just knowing that they are not alone in their struggle, and that someone understands where they’re coming from and may even have been in their situation before, can be tremendously helpful.
You may also want to consider organizing bereavement groups among your staff. When your team members lose a client, it can feel as if they have lost a friend. A small group session may provide the perfect outlet for your employees to express the pain of the loss and help them through the grieving process.
It’s characteristic of homecare professionals to want to do everything in their power to heal the people they care about. But in more severe cases of burnout, you simply might not have the resources to help your caregivers recover. Still, you can help by proactively researching resources in your community. Provide the caregiver with a comprehensive list of therapists in the area and include grief counseling groups that can be found locally as well.
And while you’re caring for your caregivers, don’t forget to care for yourself! Running a homecare agency is a very difficult job, and managing caregivers, patients, and payers can be all-consuming. To lighten your load, consider a homecare management system like HHAeXchange, which seamlessly connects providers, payers, and caregivers in one platform. By breaking down barriers to effective participant care in the home, HHAeXchange helps homecare agencies better manage their day-to-day activities and improve workflow efficiencies. To learn more about how HHAeXchange can help you, your caregivers, and your business, schedule a demo.
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