Burn-out syndrome by social workers in asylum houses for mothers with children

This bachelor thesis deals with theoretical and practical knowledge related to the problem of burnout among social workers in shelters for mothers and children. The burnout is defined as a state of mental, emotional and physical exhaustion. The term was defined in Ancient Greece but it was used by Freundenberger for the first time. In the 70s and 80s, Freundenberger initiated a huge wave of interest in this issue, especially in Western countries. At the end of the 20th century, the Czech countries started to deal with the phenomenon of burnout as well. Burnout originates in two groups of risk factors - external factors and internal factors. Even though the burnout is not particularly defined as an illness it consists of phases, symptoms and treatment. Eldewich and Brodsky described the most common phases of burnout. Each phase is defined by specific symptoms which can be divided into three levels: mental, physical and social. The treatment of burnout differs person to person. Sometimes a change of job is enough; sometimes it is necessary to see a doctor (psychologist, psychiatrist, and psychotherapist). Supervision can be an effective way of prevention. The highest risk of burnout threats employees in shelters for mothers and children, doctors or policemen. This thesis aims to describe the main risk factors of burnout among social workers and find out whether they are more susceptible to burnout than workers in social services in shelters for mothers and children. Regarding the target group, the qualitative strategy with semi-structured interview and interrogation technique was used in this thesis. The research group were workers (social workers and workers in social services) from the asylum facility in Znojmo and workers from the Shelter for Mothers and Children in České Budějovice. The research results are sorted by the areas based on three research questions. The first set of results showed up social workers and workers in social services are familiar with the burnout issue, however the level of their knowledge significantly differs. There was only one social worker able to describe the exact phases and give some examples from literature. The second set of questions revealed burnout originates in internal factors among social workers while workers in social services are rather influenced by external factors including unwillingness of clients to cooperate. Lastly, social workers and workers in social services see the prevention in sharing their experience with colleagues. They do not consider supervision as an effective way of prevention even though they all have an opportunity to use it. The first question deals with the scope of theoretical knowledge of burnout among social workers and workers in social services. The second research question compares the factors of burnout. Lastly, the question focuses on supervision as a tool of prevention. The conclusion evaluates the targets and presents the research questions. This thesis also describes its contribution for supervisors and supervised; for general knowledge of burnout in asylum facilities in Znojmo and in České Budějovice and for social workers and workers in social services