Burnout among student services staff members may have a negative impact on work performance and career happiness, leading to a high prevalence of mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and suicide. By examining inherent, salary and promotion, and organizational problems, Brewer and Clippard's study, "Burnout and job satisfaction among student services personnel," aims to address the ways in which personal accomplishment, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion are addressed. Whether there is a link between overall job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion as well as the correlation between the overall mean on job satisfaction and burnout mechanisms is the study question being addressed.
It is evident from the article's introduction that this is not a straightforward problem. For the first couple of paragraphs, the article is in fact fairly confusing. Both Brewer and Clippard begin by saying that burnout to the employees and employers has been an on-going concern and the harmful results of burnout have exhibited themselves on personal and structural stages. There is a relationship between burnout and physical and mental health problems among them gastric-intestinal problems, backaches, headaches, anxiety, depression, family problems, drugs and alcohol abuse, insomnia, and physical exhaustion (Arches, 2011).
A research on burnout has been conducted on different populations such as lawyers, child care workers, mental health workers, teachers, customer service representatives, police officers, and social workers among others. Maintaining intense contact with individuals is the common thread among the populations listed above. Solutions for the problems of the clients are not obvious and easily obtained hence the justification for the plight of personnel that is offered in assisting employees (Brewer & Clippard 2002). The article presents a research that focuses on Student Support Services personnel (SSSP) as the people who provide services which are intended to increase graduation as well as retention charges for first-generation, low-income college students.
Analysis
To such a complicated issue, Brewer and Clippard sums the research up well by demonstrating the inverse affiliation between burnout and job satisfaction typically meaning that the higher the job fulfilment, the lower the burnout and vice versa. Student Support Services personnel (SSSP) can have a higher job satisfaction when their burnout at the work station is lower. Burnout in this case can be caused by employee perception of control over the environment, role conflict, general employee psychological well-being, over-involvement of employees with clients, and a belief that caseloads are too heavy (Brewer & Clippard 2002).
In a more analysis, the research is substantive as it addresses all the research questions and hypotheses. The research questions addressed in the study include the degree the SSSP are contented with their profession, the burnout rate among the SSSP, and if the employee’s Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) survey and Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS) are in line with recognized literature and information about job satisfaction and burnout. Brewer and Clippard have been able to relate and connect the information and literature with the results or rather findings of the study. The literature gives background information about burnout and job satisfaction among employees. Levy and Ellis aver that literature in research is a significant component especially when the author is unacquainted with the subject part and is uncertain on what perspective to approach the topic (2016). Therefore, literature has given a broad view of the subject, introduction to key issues and major trends.
Hypotheses Analysis
Further, the authors are in a position to formulate their hypotheses questions for their research based on their research questions. I am in support of their rich and wide use of literature and known information about burnout and job satisfaction as it creates a basis and foundation for a wide-ranging research on the subject. The hypotheses in concrete terms formulate two hypotheses statements, one which describes the authors’ prediction and one that describes all other possible outcomes. What is more, the authors use the hypotheses of this research to drive the primary research question of the study rather than data. The research in the article meets another quality threshold since the authors have stated hypothesis as “null” hypothesis as the study tests statistical significance so as to make a suggestion around the population of interest on the ground of a population-taken random sample.
Findings
This is a good concept covered on this research with a good, well-written, and precise grammar on how the SSSP relate to burnout and job satisfaction. The tables of the several findings are well-written and capture significant details which help in determining features of the sample and research questions findings. The discussion and implications of the research are not too generalized as they address and are based on research questions. For instance, organizational factors such as lack of employee power in making decisions, a rigid and controlling environment, role conflict and ambiguity, as well as work overload can be associated to high job satisfaction and low burnout.
General view
Overall, the article is well-written and good with a vital message for SSSP. When taken as complete, the piece is very pertinent and substantial in concept but starts slow and does not lay out a fundamental way of effectively addressing this problem. The article is not straightforward in the beginning and it is not until after a few paragraphs an individual realizes where the article is headed. A more concise introduction is required so as to have more individuals engaging and reading the entire article so as to get relevant facts and information on the relationship between low burnout and high job contentment.
References
Arches, J. (2011). Social structure, burnout, and job satisfaction. Social work, 36(3), 202-206.
Brewer, E. W., & Clippard, L. F. (2002). Burnout and job satisfaction among student support services personnel. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 13(2), 169-186.
Levy, Y., & Ellis, T. J. (2006). A systems approach to conduct an effective literature review in support of information systems research. Informing Science: International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, 9(1), 181-212.
