Research Projects

The Burnout Experience of Attorneys

The research question here focuses on understanding the burnout experiences of lawyers. This is a qualitative study seeking to develop a phenomenology of lawyers' experience of burnout. Drs. Dunbar, Purper, Minesinger are co-investigators.

Clergy and Emotional Labor: Exploring the Role of Differentiation on Coping with Clergy Burnout and Job Satisfaction

This study seeks to understand how one’s ability to manage emotional reactions and stress while maintaining relationships with others, known conceptually as Differentiation of Self (DoS), allows one to prevent and cope with stressors and burnout associated with being a clergy. Differentiation of Self is a critical psychological resource which should either be developed by or supported in the work and family environment, or a resource which could be depleted in those environments. In other words, DoS is crucial for clergy to cope with stressors that arise due to role conflicts between their clerical job responsibilities and their family life demands. These types of demands cause a significant amount of burnout and job stress, and contribute to turnover and lowered job satisfaction. This is especially true for clergy who provide spiritual and psychological support for both their congregations and families. Emotional labor is an important vehicle or pathway for understanding how Differentiation of Self is a resource for coping with stress and burnout from both these environments. The goal of this research is to identify the relative contributions of DoS and emotional labor on work-family conflict, burnout, and job satisfaction. Further, DoS and emotional labor should mediate the relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. That is, emotional labor should provide the tools needed to manage work-family conflict thus minimizing burnout and increasing job satisfaction. As clergy support the spiritual life of congregations, this research should provide important resources to improve clergy longevity in the ministry and improve job satisfaction. Drs. Dunbar, Thai, Ardito, and Browning Co-investigators. Ms. Sandberg is our research assistant.