Academic literature on the topic 'Psychiatrists New Zealand Job stress'

Anaesthetic technicians play a key role in the operating room, yet little is known about their levels of job satisfaction or workplace stress. A blinded, confidential single mail-out survey was posted to anaesthetic technicians in New Zealand. The survey consisted of demographic information, a job satisfaction survey, the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Short Form 12. At total of 154 forms were returned (51% response rate). Respondents worked predominantly in public hospitals and many had duties outside the operating room. Job satisfaction was related to teamwork, practical nature of work and patient contact, while dissatisfaction was related to lack of respect from nurses and limited career pathway. High to moderate levels of emotional exhaustion (48%), depersonalisation (39%) and low levels of personal accomplishment (58%) were indicators of burnout. The Short Form 12 revealed high levels of physical impairment in 24% and emotional impairment in 35% of respondents. These data suggest that work is needed to evaluate anaesthetic assistants’ job structure and actively manage their important physical and emotional sequelae.

Based on an analysis of the New Zealand data in the Work Orientation module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) across three rounds (1997, 2005 and 2015), this paper examines how workers in New Zealand perceive their job quality. These surveys imply that New Zealanders have relatively good jobs, as shown in healthy levels of job quality and job satisfaction. They rate highly the quality of their collegial relationships at work and typically perceive the intrinsic quality of their job as better than the extrinsic quality. A key issue in relation to the latter is that they generally do not rate their advancement opportunities as high. While men, full-timers and graduates have some advantages over women, part-timers and non-graduates in extrinsic job quality, the intrinsic quality of work is more evenly experienced. In terms of intrinsic issues, the rising level of stress from 2005 to 2015 poses a concern and there is no evidence that graduates enjoy any kind of premium in the intrinsic quality of work apart from a lower level of hard physical effort.

Objective: We aimed to elucidate causative and protective factors associated with burnout in New Zealand psychiatrists, to identify signs and symptoms of the burnout syndrome, and to identify any difference in the perspectives of psychiatrists who scored high versus low on the emotional exhaustion (EE) subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Method: Twelve participants were randomly selected, six from each group of psychiatrists (high versus low EE). A face-to-face interview based on a semi-structured questionnaire was carried out with each participant. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcriptions were manually analysed by two independent reviewers using a grounded theory approach for qualitative analysis. Results: Major features of burnout were changes in appearance, behaviour and mood. Causes of burnout identified were external, internal and interpersonal factors, and changing work environment. Protective factors associated with burnout included supportive relationships, extracurricular activities, variety in one's work, a positive attitude towards one's work and high job satisfaction. Conclusions: A preliminary profile of the burnout syndrome was established and has a potential role in the prevention of burnout in psychiatrists. Causative factors associated with burnout were identified and supported previous findings. Novel factors protective against burnout were suggested and require further investigation. No differences were apparent between the two subgroups of psychiatrists (high versus low EE).

Objective: The aims of this study were to develop a profile of current psychiatric trainees in New Zealand, to identify factors important in their recruitment to and retention in psychiatric training and to identify factors that predict failure to complete training. Method: A survey was sent to all current psychiatric trainees in New Zealand and to all trainees who could be traced who had left psychiatric training in New Zealand in the last 5 years without completing the Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Results: General characteristics of the two groups are presented, as well as information about recruitment, burnout, general health and experiences of work and training. The only significant difference in general characteristics between the two groups was that more of those who had left training prematurely had been born overseas. The levels of family and personal mental illness were high, but there was no difference in these rates between those who had stayed in training and those who had left prematurely. Most trainees had decided to pursue a psychiatric career during their house-officer years. The most important factors determining the choice of a career in psychiatry were philosophical interest and house-officer experience in psychiatry. With respect to retention, despite high rates of burnout and psychological morbidity, and dissatisfaction with various aspects of the work setting, 94% of current trainees indicated satisfaction with their decision to train in psychiatry and over 90% intended to practise in New Zealand in the future. Most trainees who left training prematurely did so during the first 2 years of training. Dissatisfaction with work conditions, and stress or burnout were the main reasons for leaving. Conclusions: This study provides information on some of the complex determinants of psychiatric recruitment and retention in the New Zealand setting. Areas that could be addressed in order to improve recruitment, work satisfaction and retention in training are considered.

Our study of pre-medical and medical students attending the Universities of British Columbia, Hong Kong and Otago, together with house surgeons, general practitioners, surgeons and psychiatrists in New Zealand, demonstrated many agreements regarding both positive and negative factors affecting their interest in psychiatry. Positive factors included: interest in human behaviour, personal aptitude, and quality of patient care. Negative factors included: the stress of practising psychiatry, faculty attitude and the quality of the science. Differences were determined by age of the students and cultural and personal experiences. We concluded that if more students are to be interested in psychiatry then psychiatrists will need to show that they enjoy their work and give effective treatment.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relevance of personal and organisational factors contributing to workplace stress among Chinese migrants in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on surveys of 88 participants using the theoretical model of person-environment fit. Findings – The results reveal that perceived fit of organisational factors has a significant impact on workplace stress outcomes including emotional well-being, work-related health, job performance and intention to quit. Further analysis also shows that personal factors, some as a result of acculturation, play a moderating effect on the perceived relationship between the organisation and workplace stress. Education, advanced language skills and building networks in the new community are all important factors to minimise stress. Originality/value – From an organisational perspective, the study highlights the importance of understanding the factors that cause workplace stress, especially with a culturally diverse working population. This cross-sectional study could be furthered through the use of alternative cultural samples, and through the development of a longitudinal design. In short, this study of the work stress of Chinese migrants in New Zealand contributes to the field of knowledge providing exploratory insights for work stress research in human resource management.

Background Burnout is a prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job and is particularly prevalent in human services professionals. Three dimensions of burnout have been described: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalisation, and reduced Personal Accomplishment. Low levels of Job Satisfaction in some professional groups have been reported to be associated with high levels of burnout, but not in psychiatrists. New Zealand Psychiatrists may be at a higher risk for burnout. No study has been conducted on its prevalence, causative, or protective factors for burnout in this population. The relationship between Job Satisfaction and burnout among New Zealand psychiatrists is also poorly understood. Research is needed to understand what aspects of psychiatric practice contribute to burnout in psychiatrists. Finally, the long term stability of burnout and Job Satisfaction as constructs need to be investigated. Methods and Materials This was a questionnaire-based prospective study of all vocationally registered psychiatrists in New Zealand. It was conducted in three phases over a three-year period. For Phase 1, three questionnaires (Socio-Demographic Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and Job Diagnostic Survey (JDS) were mailed out to the subjects. Data on the prevalence of burnout and level of Job Satisfaction were collected, and relationships between socio-demographic variables, Job Satisfaction, and burnout were ascertained. Phase 2 of the study aimed at elucidating the relationship between sources of stress in psychiatric practice and burnout. A Sources of Stress Questionnaire (SOS-Q) was developed for the purposes of the study by conducting a selective literature review. Findings from the review were catgeorised under those factors having predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating, and protective effects on burnout in psychiatrists. The Sources of Stress Questionnaire was piloted on six psychiatrists selected by purposive random sampling from Phase 1 of the study, and results were qualitatively analysed and the Sources of Stress Questionnaire refined. The final version of Sources of Stress Questionnaire containing 45 factors was mailed out to the study cohort. Phase 3 of the study aimed at investigating the longitudinal stability of burnout and Job Satisfaction, and the ability of burnout scores to predict Job Satisfaction and vice versa. Maslach Burnout Inventory and Job Diagnostic Survey were re-administered in Phase 3, and the scores between Phases 1 and 3 compared using paired t-tests. Correlation coefficients and Chi-square tests were performed to study the relationship between Job Satisfaction in Phase 1 and burnout scores in Phase 3 and vice versa Results Phase 1: Two-thirds of all psychiatrists in the Phase 1 of the study were found to experience medium to high levels of Emotional Exhaustion, with a similar proportion describing low levels of Personal Accomplishment. Yet Job Satisfaction appeared high, evidenced by the following median scores on the five dimensions of Job Diagnostic Survey: Skill Variety=18 (range 3-21), Task Identity=15 (range 3-21), Task Significance=17 (range 3-21), Autonomy=16 (range 3-21), and Feedback about results=14 (range 3-21). The median total Job Satisfaction score was 62 (range 13-83). Overall Job Satisfaction decreased with increasing Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalisation, but increased with increasing Personal Accomplishment. Phase 2: Emotional Exhaustion scores from Phase 1 were used to study the relationship with Sources of Stress Questionnaire scores from Phase 2 (n=131). Factor analysis identified 11 non-correlated factors of Sources of Stress Questionnaire, which were further analysed using Chi-Squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID). Four factors emerged as associated with burnout in psychiatrists in New Zealand: too much work, working long hours, an aggressive administrative environment, and lacking support from management. Two factors were negatively correlated with Emotional Exhaustion: Job Satisfaction and/or enjoyment, and low pay compared to other countries. Phase 3: The number of psychiatrists in the study cohort who scored low, medium, and high on the three sub scales of Maslach Burnout Inventory, and high, medium, or low on the five dimensions of Job Diagnostic Survey did not change over the three-year period. Similarly, mean score of Emotional Exhaustion did not change, but Depersonalisation increased and Personal Accomplishment dropped over the study period. Two subscales of Job Diagnostic Survey in Phase 1 were correlated with three subscales of Maslach Burnout Inventory in Phase 3 (Task Significance positively with Personal Accomplishment and Emotional Exhaustion, Feedback about results with Personal Accomplishment, and negatively with Depersonalisation). Maslach Burnout Inventory subscales in Phase 1 also showed correlations with Job Diagnostic Survey subscales in Phase 3 (Emotional Exhaustion negatively with Task Identity and Task Autonomy, Personal Accomplishment positively with Task Identity and Task Significance). Conclusions and Study Implications The high prevalence of burnout in New Zealand may have significant implications for mental health service provision. Service planners and policy developers may need to be aware of the impact of burnout on psychiatrists and their ability to care for patients. Unique aspects of psychiatric practice associated with burnout have been identified, and will need to be replicated by future studies. While the proportion of psychiatrists scoring as high, medium, or low on Maslach Burnout Inventory and Job Diagnostic Survey may not change in a cohort with time, individual scores may vary. Longitudinal studies should therefore report group and individual scores on Maslach Burnout Inventory and Job Diagnostic Survey.
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This research shows that sense of community reduces the effect of job stress on burnout among a sample of 672 New Zealand nurses. Sense of community - a feeling that members matter to one another (and to the group) and a shared faith that members� needs will be met through their commitment to be together - consists of four elements: membership, integration and fulfilment of needs, influence and shared emotional connection. Results indicate that nurses have a moderate to high level of sense of community. Apart from the influence element, subscale reliabilities for the other three elements were acceptably high on the Nurse Sense of Community Index, an instrument that was developed for use in this study. In relation to occupational stress, the study results indicate that high workload, rather than any difference in the practice requirements of various types of nursing work is the most important factor contributing to nurses� job stress. Public hospital nurses experience significantly higher levels of perceived job stress than their private sector counterparts because high workloads and problems of recruiting and retaining nurses are more typical of the public sector. Nurses who work full-time experience more job stress than those who work part-time, and those in the 20 to 30 age group experience the highest frequency of perceived job stress. Burnout is a syndrome of high emotional exhaustion and high depersonalisation in the presence of a lack of personal accomplishment. Nurses who work full-time experience significantly higher levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation than those who work part-time. Accident and emergency nurses have the highest level of burnout and intensive care unit nurses the lowest level of burnout among public hospital nurses. Overall, the majority of nurses experience a low to moderate degree of burnout. Yet, a substantial proposition of the sample population acknowledge experiencing some aspect of burnout, and as has been found by other nursing studies, a nurse�s age influences burnout levels, with younger nurses experiencing more burnout than older nurses. A clear relationship between an increased frequency of perceived job stress and burnout was identified. Results suggest that nurses with a high level of sense of community have lower frequencies of perceived job stress, experience lower burnout than those with low and moderate levels of sense of community. Findings demonstrate that burnout remains a serious issue for nurses the nursing profession and, as the demands on professional workers increase, the health care sector. The theoretical and practical implications of the study�s findings for management practice are postulated in the conclusion of this thesis.

The impact of the Contact Centre workplace upon employee satisfaction or wellness is attracting the attention of researchers across the globe. Over 10 years of research has resulted in recommendations about how Contact Centres should be managed and how the jobs of Contact Centre agents should be designed. There is growing concern that the current practices result in significant psychosocial risk factors which are ultimately harming the Contact Agents and less obviously the bottom line of their organisations through emotional exhaustion, stress, employee absenteeism and turnover. The aim of this study was to explore whether Contact Centre managers were aware of these recommendations, in particular those relating to the design of motivating, satisfying and “healthy” jobs. Using an expanded Job Characteristic Model, this descriptive study explored the level of awareness of New Zealand Contact Centre managers (n=20) regarding the recommendations about the design of jobs, and what changes, if any, have occurred as a result. Where changes have not been forthcoming, the study explored the constraints which were preventing or limiting change. The results of this study indicated that there is a low level of awareness of the research recommendations, that approaches to improving the management and design of Contact Centre agents roles are ad hoc, and that there is a level of resistance in providing agents with autonomy to manage their day to day roles. Some efforts to increase task and skill variety have been made but these are also ad hoc rather than built into the job. As a result of this study, it appears that Contact Centres in New Zealand are still adopting a mass production model of management. This study has implications for Contact Centre managers and senior organisational managers, these are discussed. Limitations of the research, implications for Contact Centre Managements are highlighted and areas for further research are highlighted