Communal orientation may not buffer burnout.
Communal orientation (a desire to give and receive benefits in response to the needs of and out of concern for others) has had a buffer effect on burnout, in particular when the helping relationship is perceived by the helper as inequitable. This result, however, comes from research involving a specific professional group, medical personnel, that is, a group with a medical helping model wherein recipients are neither held responsible for their problem nor for the solution. We hypothesized that among professional helpers with a compensatory model wherein recipients are not held responsible for their problem but for the solution, and who perceive the relationship as inequitable, not only will a communal orientation not have effect on burnout, but it will reduce personal accomplishment. We present some results supporting this hypothesis.
Truchot
D
D
Laboratoire de Psychologie Sociale, E.H.E.S.S., Paris, France. didier.truchot@wanadoo.fr
Keirsebilck
L
L
Meyer
S
S
D000328:Adult; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012938:Social Perception; D012947:Social Work