STAFF BURNOUT AND ABSENTEEISM THROUGH SERVICE TRANSITION - FROM HOSPITAL TO HOSTEL

Residential nursing staff were asked to complete the Maslach Burnout I nventory (MBI) each month for a total of six months throughout a servi ce transition involving the move of a group of men with profound learn ing disabilities, some with additional challenging behaviours, from tw o hospital wards to a community-living orientated hostel. The MBI was used to measure the effect on staff of the intense reorganisation in t heir working environment. Significant increases in Emotional Exhaustio n and Depersonalisation, and a (non significant) decrease in Personal Accomplishment were found during the transition. Levels reverted to ba seline following the move, but burnout remained above the mean of a pr eviously published study, for two of the three dimensions. Levels of a bsenteeism largely mirrored the pattern of the MBI scores, with a one- month lapse between high burnout and high absenteeism, supporting prev ious research indicating an association between the two.