Avoid IRB staff burn-out following these tips
Burnout stems from initial passion
When IRB directors are coping with the repercussions of staff burnout, they should keep in mind that burnout typically only happens to people who have a strong passion for their job, an expert notes.
"People burnout because they really care, and you should take that into account," says Elizabeth Cothran, MS, CIP, director of the office of research subject protection at Baylor Research Institute in Dallas, TX.
"People who work in human subjects protection typically are very passionate about it," Cothran says. "And it makes sense that they'd be more prone to burnout."
What happens is an employee will become so emotionally attached and involved in her job that it makes it easier to get burned out on some of the tedious, stressful, and mundane tasks that go with the day-to-day work, Cothran explains.
The same passion that might create potential for burnout also could be used to keep employees excited and energized.
From an individual perspective, IRB staff could look for work and tasks within their organizations that would help them expand their skill set and keep them out of a rut, Cothran suggests.
For example, employees could volunteer for committees or to work with patient advocacy groups, which are available in some health care systems, Cothran says.
IRB directors could improve staff satisfaction through employee reward and recognition programs, Cothran adds.
"It's hard work on one hand, but at my institution we have three different employee recognition events, including a picnic we hold each year," she says. "I always make sure I volunteer to work at one of these each year, even if it's for handing out bottled water and soft drinks in the drink tent."
The point is for managers to show up and see both their own staff and other employees.
"You see different people and realize that you're a part of the overall institution," Cothran says. "This helps you see something different from the day-to-day paperwork."
IRBs and institutions should encourage participation in company events and employee recognition outings by providing managers and staff with time for it, she suggests.
"That's something we encourage here," she says. "It has to be manageable and something an employee can do and still get work done, but I certainly encourage it."
What an institution gives up on staff time will be rewarded in improved staff productivity, satisfaction, and morale, Cothran adds.
Another way to prevent staff burnout is to provide an active training program with expenses covered for staff.
"We have a training program that brings in different experts," Cothran says. "Our IRB staff and other research personnel go to these."
Another strategy for preventing burnout is to encourage staff to look at their job's specific duties and decide which they like best and which they loathe.
"It's a cumbersome and time-consuming process, but it helps people see what it is they do every day," Cothran says. "You look at the tasks and see which are the most frustrating for you, maybe because they're bothersome or redundant or are things you just don't like to do."
Then the employee looks at parts of the job that are rewarding and make her happy or give her a sense of accomplishment, she adds.
Once these tasks are divided according to which elevates the spirit and which defeats the spirit, the point is for the employee and manager to question why the tasks in the negative category are being done.
"Is this step one that truly protects human subjects and plays an important piece in your world? Or is it something that meets a regulatory requirement?" Cothran says. "If not, then is there a good foundation there so that there might be another way to do that task? Or is there a way to make the task not so frustrating?"
Also, managers could ask themselves whether there might be another employee who could take over that particular task because it's on that employee's list of positive job tasks.
For instance, the Baylor Research Institute's office of research subject protection found that filing was an overwhelming task to the coordinator staff, but one administrative assistant loved doing it, Cothran recalls.
"So we looked at how we could get this administrative assistant, who was good at filing, to help us with filing," she says.
The solution was to share the administrative assistant with his main office by having him help out with filing one afternoon a week, Cothran says.
This began as a temporary solution, but when all parties involved saw the benefits — including a higher morale on the part of the administrative assistant who enjoys contributing to the subject protection office — it became a regular arrangement, she adds.
The office once divided work by task with two levels of employees: One level did more of the clerical work, and the other level did more of the administrative work.
Although such a division seemed necessary at the time, Cothran found that it lead to one employee being very frustrated and experiencing burnout in her job.
"We decided to redistribute the work by committee so that employees do equal amounts of jobs that are more rewarding, balanced with doing work that has to be done, but is frustrating," Cothran explains. "This improved one employee's frustration."
The other employees also adjusted, and the office began to function more like a team. Although this meant some staff took on more tedious work, the payoff was that the formerly frustrated employee had better morale, which improved everyone's moods, she adds.
The office has had some staff turnover, but the changes have improved morale and reduced the turnover, Cothran notes.
Another strategy the office has employed has helped keep IRB membership turnover low and has improved investigator satisfaction, she says.
"We set up reasonable, but very aggressive, timelines for processing our paperwork," Cothran says. "We get it moved from step to step so things don't back up and result in investigators calling us."
The office also has built a strong set of policies and procedures and maps for how things should be done, and these are available for all involved in human subjects research to see.
"This makes people aware of how things should operate, and it helps the IRB administrator and committee because they don't have to feel as though they're winging it," Cothran says.
When IRB directors are coping with the repercussions of staff burnout, they should keep in mind that burnout typically only happens to people who have a strong passion for their job, an expert notes.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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