Work

Personal wellness and burnout have been common themes in research studies regarding professional satisfaction and career success. Personality characteristics in relation to job and career success among professionals have also been included in countless studies. However, Bateman and Crant (1993) defined and began research on the specific construct of the proactive personality and how it related to personal achievement, satisfaction, and success among executives. This dissertation study is an extension of their research in that the relationship between proactive personality, job satisfaction and levels of burnout among Licensed Mental Health Counselors in Florida specifically, is being examined. While proactive personality positively and significantly related to job satisfaction and satisfaction with being a counselor among the participants in this study, it did not significantly relate to feelings of emotional exhaustion or feelings of depersonalization toward clients. When age, salary, years licensed, and proactive personality in relation to job satisfaction and levels of burnout were included in the statistical analysis, proactive personality and salary positively related to job satisfaction, personal accomplishment, and satisfaction with being a counselor, but the relationships were not significant. Hence, the results of this study provides useful information regarding proactive personality and how it relates to the overall job satisfaction, levels of burnout among clinicians, and to assist in the development of wellness programs, burnout prevention, and in the empowerment of mental health professionals in this demanding field.

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between wellness and burnout among novice counselors. This research was carried out in order to gain a better understanding of the experience of the novice counselor as well as to gain insight into the effects of wellness and burnout on these experiences. The significance of this research lies in the need to understand the novice counselor's journey, the factors that can contribute to or prevent burnout, and the potential prevention and intervention strategies that can be employed in response to burnout. The data of a final sample of 144 participants' scores on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), The Five Factor Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (5F-Wel), and a demographic questionnaire were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences in order to explore the relationships between wellness and burnout. The researcher found significant relationships between demographic factors of the novice counselor, including age, years of experience, and number of hours delivering counseling services, and both the MBI and the 5F-Wel. The researcher also found a relationship between all factors of wellness and the three subscales of burnout. A particularly important finding was the significance of the Coping Self, Physical Self, and Creative Self subscales of wellness to the subscales of burnout. The implications of the findings include the development of specific intervention and prevention strategies for novice counselors. Limitations of this research include the relatively small sample size, potential bias among the participants who chose to complete the survey, and the limited generalizability.