Burdening factors

I read an interesting article recently which mentioned the concept of the "burdening factor" (Oksa et al., 2023, p. 1740). The implication being that over time, a task becomes too onerous for the benefit it conveys. A burdening factor - effectively a stressor - has been subdivided for the world of work into three psychological burdens: those of "overload, monotony and non-specific factor[s]" (Truhlarova et al., 2020, p. 4). This is where: 

• overload includes "time pressure, [...] high responsibility, [... and] problems and conflicts. 
• monotony includes "low contentment, [...] mind-numbing work, [...and] monotony. 
• "non-specific factor[s, or] stress response[s]", effectively a catch-all for hard to define items, and includes "nervousness, [...] mental satiation, [...] exhaustion and [...] long-term bearability" (p. 4)

German research found that nurses "wanting to do even more for the patients [...were met with] such a burdening factor that they [could...]not realise their own demands", due to the burdening factor of time (Bernburg et al., 2023, p. 10) - or overload, if we are to use the groupings by Truhlarova et al. (2020). 

Burdening factors may fall more on women than men; as more women are nurses, teachers, and career development practitioners (Furbish, 2002; Lowery-Kappes & Young, 2023; Phillips, 2011); which are also lower paid fields (Phillips, 2011), and where time is not generally made during work hours for staff to undertake professional development (Bernberg et al., 2023; Phillips, 2011). In order to stay in our professions, our work duties expand beyond the paid working day.  

Not only is PD yet another burden in an already busy life, but logging the PD becomes an additional burdening factor. Thus "[r]ecord keeping [is...] seen as a chore and these employees also felt that the employer was the beneficiary and not" the person who had undertaken the CPD in the first place (Phillips, 2011, p. 56), with "many [being] discouraged and put off by having to record their own CPD", and that "since having to record the activities they actually did less" continuous PD (p. 57). What is interesting is that the PD being reported here is being reported to the employer, not to a professional organisation; so it is easy to see why having to again log the PD hours feels even more burdensome for the individual. 

We need simple ways to undertake and to record PD. Make it easy, not hard, professional organisations! 

Sam

References:

Bernburg, M., Harth, V., Groneberg, D. A., & Mache, S. (2023). “Always Look at the Clock”: Psychosocial Working Conditions in Outpatient Care—A Qualitative Study. Healthcare, 11(23), 3043, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11233043

Furbish, D. S. (2002). A Snapshot of New Zealand Career Practitioners. Australian Journal of Career Development, 11(2), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1177/103841620201100204

Lowery-Kappes, H., & Young, S., (2023). The Shape of Career Practice in Aotearoa NZ [slidedeck]. CANNEXUS23 Conference 23-25 January 2023. https://cannexus23.gtr.pathable.com/meetings/virtual/q32dbm9cxwNqDYAnd

Oksa, R., Kaakinen, M., Savela, N., Ellonen, N., & Oksanen, A. (2023). Social media use in professional organizations: boosting and draining workforce. Behaviour & Information Technology, 42(11), 1740-1757. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2022.2094833

Phillips, M. (2011). The role of self-direction in Australian sonographers' professional development. [PhD Thesis, Deakin University]. https://dro.deakin.edu.au/articles/thesis/The_role_of_self-direction_in_Australian_sonographers_professional_development/21099964/1/files/37440574.pdf

Truhlarova, Z., Stech, O., Voseckova, A., Klimova, B., & Kuca, K. (2020). Assessment of mental burden of family caregivers of persons with health disabilities in the Czech Republic. Social Sciences, 9(6), 95, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci9060095

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