The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 9,1983, PAGE 3 Yo u-ng workers most suce.qýptible to "buru-ut Y.oung, dedicated workers who have reeently started theLr careers are moat yul. nerable to stress anc "burn-out" in their Jobs, a Toronto professor told a group of social workers last Wed. nesday. Social workprofessor Robert , McFadden, speaking to an inter- agency luncheon of the Social Planning Council of Oshawa-Whitby, said age. and expectations are directly related to the phenomenon .0f burn-out. "I believe we set peo- ple up for this type of trauma ... with .a profes- sional mystique," Mc- Fadden said. Professional Mystique The -mystique is that jobs will be rewarding, co-workers and clients wil be appreciative, workers wWl know when they are succeeding or faîling, and workers will be able to work autono- ,mously. "If you go in with this type of expectation, you are going to hit a -brick walI, " McFadden said. He pointed out that stress and burn-out have become the "psy- chological bubblegum"' of our time, and the terms "mean nothing because- they mean everything". McFadden is an assis- tant social work pro- fessor at the University 0f Toronto who recently completed his doctoral thesis on burn-out among child protection workers. The Cost of Burn-o ut Despite the current preoccupation ,with burn-out, McFadden said it is a very import- ant phenomenon be- cause it 15 50 wide- spread. Burn-out takes its toil on the physical health of Canadians in stress-related diseases such as heart attacks and colitis, and costs up- wards of $10 million and counselling are mnost likely to experien- ce burn-out. But it is certainly not llmited to these fields, and can happen to anyone who Is under stress. "The klnd of work we (social workers) do magnifies it," he said. "IWe go through several emotional lifetimes... because we are dealing with emotions in turmn- oi." Burn-out, MeFadden said, is the resuit of pro- longed and increasing stress, and can happen on, personal or organiza- tional levels. Three Phases The first sign of burn- out is emotional ex- haustion, the feeling of being "sucked dry like a vacuum cleaner". What may follow is detaeh- ment, depersonalization and even cynicism. Fin- aily a victim of burn-out loses ail sense of ac- complishment in his or her work. "Burn-out is not an absolute state, " McFad- den said. "We move in and out of these phases and don't necessarily progress through them in stages. " Burn-out can resuit in alcohol and drug abuse, withdrawal, isolation and a desire to leave your job. On an organi- zational, level, the resuits can be low staff morale, a high staff turnover rate, increased illness and absenteeism. Dedicated Workers' The people most likely to burn-out are those who are dedicated work- ers, McFadden said, pointing out that "You can't burn-out if you've neyer been on fire"'. Victimns of emotional exhaustion and stress have a crisis of compe- tency, "«a feeling that You don't know what you are doing" . Reducmng Stress Employers and em- ployees can reduce the incidence of burn-out by being aware of the pro- blem, and eliminating known causes. Being "Up front" about your feelings and admittinig you are only hunian is one way to ease the psychological stress that Ieads to burn-out. "There is a con- spiracy of silence in this area," McFadden said. "t's a superhuman atti- tude ... we don't want to realize that we are-basic human beings. "One stunning omis- sion is that people don't 'realize if they can't take care of themselves, they are no good to anyone else. " People shouldn't pass off their feelings of exhaustion and incom- petence because they are "too busy to deal with it," he said. Recog- nizing the problem is haîf the battle. Increased awareness of your feelings, manag- ing your time to allow for.relaxation, counsell- ing and putting variety into your work can ease t srs"It's a balance of being able to realize we can only do so much, GOLD 'leCHAINS /2regular 12price 099 U each while quantities last 7" Bracelets -One of the larges t selections in the Durham Region" 1CTM DIAMOND CLUSTER NOW ONLY: $77000 and flot over-investing in our work," McFad- den said. "We can't count on the one single reward coming fromn our work." Emplo yers Can Help' Employers can help by providing consistent and formai feedback, more than "off-the-cuff pats on the back". Me- Fadden found in his study those who felt they knew how well they were doing were less Iikely to experience burn-out. DIAMOND SOLITAIRE 14 kt. gold 5 mm CULTURED PEARL STUD EARRINGS Quasar Portable VCR 5410, Regular 1799.00 Quasar Portable VCR Fully Remote 5420 lng Camera 743 Regutar 2848.00 Quasar 20" Portable Colour TV Regular 599.00 ueJKendalwood Park Plaza 1801 Dundas St. E.9 Whitby &531 plus Self Focus- Now '2699.00. Being able to parti- cipate in decision- making helps. Employ- ers can crate "learned helplessness" in their employees by refusing them the responsibility of decision-making. Spread out the unplea- sant tasks involved in your work, McFadden suggested. And above ail, be aware of and ad- mit to yourself when you are feeling upset, bored, uselesa or inadequate. VINCE'S GRDCERY SUPER SPECIALS Primo Vegetable 011 3 litres . reg. 3.69 2,99 Beer Nuts ....... reg. 2.79 1.a99 lb. Palmolive Dish Soap 500 ml...... reg. 1.591«19 Sesame, Sticks.......... reg. 1.79 1«391lb. Cigarettes1il 69 par carton 214 Dundas St. E.., Whltby 668-5112 7 DI AMOND CLUSTER OR RUBVI SAPPHIRE OR EMERALD CENTRE $7995 DIAMOND EARRINGS $9999~ -, I 4 4 4, -. g 4% '-J '4 % 20 PT. TOT. DIAMOND CLUSTER PENDANT T.. -CULTURED i 14 KT. GOLD EARRINGS 1/2DPrice DIAMOND CLUSTER NOW ONLY $49500 Now '499.00 5792591 j 14 kt. clasps. 18- 0 ive >q;qg; loiwu %VY Vii"cent.ý ewe, ers i il 20 SIMCOE ST S.. OSHAWA. 723-7133 ALL ME RCHANDISE Open: Mon.-Thurs., 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m- Fri., 9:30 a.m.-9 pým. Sat., 9.30 fi.m.-5 p.m. ý',UARANTEFD GRANDFATI-ER CLOCKS BUILT BY A G.RANDFATI-ER.. JOE DE KONING 655-4097 BROOKLIN ONT. Portable VCR Specials &531 plus Color Sound Camera 731 Now$1 679.00