We know that burnout is the exhaustion of our body and mind by a long period of high work pressure or stressful (working) conditions.
However, apart from external factors and the work environment, individual factors, such as personality traits, can also play a VERY important role in the development of burnout.
Here are 6 types of personality traits that 'predict' burnout.
Basic self-assessment:
Self-evaluation is about the fundamental belief in one's own abilities and belief in self-esteem. It consists of four characteristics:
- Self-confidence
- General belief in one's own capabilities
- Emotional stability
- The belief that you are in control
😄Those who evaluate themselves positively see a difficult task as an opportunity to succeed because of their high self-confidence .
😠Those who evaluate themselves negatively see a difficult task as threatening and stressful. They prefer routine work, for example.
The more negative the self-evaluation, the greater the risk of burnout.
Positive and negative affect:
Positive affect is the tendency to experience positive emotions, such as happiness, enthusiasm and joy. Negative affect refers to the tendency to experience negative emotions such as sadness, fear and hostility.
People with high positive affect are more likely to view their work as pleasant, while employees with high negative affect often experience their work environment as unpleasant and stressful.
Negative affect increases the risk of developing burnout, while positive affect can actually decrease the risk of developing burnout.
Optimism:
Optimism is the tendency to believe that good things will happen in the future. The optimist sees his or her job stress as temporary. The pessimist, on the other hand, sees job stressors as permanent. Therefore, pessimistic people are more likely to burn out.
Proactive personality:
If you are proactive, you look for opportunities. You take action, show initiative and persevere until change happens. Therefore, a proactive personality can reduce the likelihood of burnout.
You are more likely to choose an environment that is open to making changes than someone with a reactive personality.
Resilience:
Resilience is the extent to which a person can handle stressors without psychological or physical strain.
If you are resilient, you believe - or know - that you can control the things that happen to you. That's why resilient workers view difficult work situations as challenges rather than threats. Resilient employees, therefore, are less likely to develop burnout.
Type A personality:
A Type A personality describes the degree to which a person is hostile, aggressive and impatient.
If you have a Type A personality, you often see the work environment as negative and tend to see little things as unfair. It is more of a negative response, such as complaining or getting upset, than feeling stimulated and motivated.
This often provokes a negative reaction from peers and may lead them to avoid this attitude.
In addition, people with Type A personalities are more likely to choose a stressful job and are more likely to provoke stressors. Therefore, they are generally more likely to develop burnout.
Knowing which personality traits are detrimental to us, we learn which ones to correct and which ones to nurture. Being a person who, from his or her way of being, can avoid burnout has in his or her hands the best tool to prevent it.
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