Impact of the Workplace Environment on Peer and Non-Peer Mental Health Providers

Job-related burnout, a three-dimensional experience involving emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment is found to be common among those in the mental health field due to the nature and gravity of their work. With a growing focus on recovery-oriented care, many mental health agencies are increasing their employment of peer-providers. Peer providers are mental health workers with diagnosed mental illness who actively and intentionally use their personal experience with mental illness to help their clients. These workers may be prone to the experience of microaggressions and stigma related to mental illness in the workplace. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and Areas of Worklife Survey (AWS) were completed by mental health workers serving four counties in Pennsylvania. Among peer-workers, there were significant associations between levels of burnout and both sense of community and sense of control as measured by the community and control subscales of the AWS. These associations were not found among non-peer providers.