Topic 127: Burnout, Stress & Coping

Study Material

Paper Paper III

Unit 3

1. Stress is a physiological and psychological response to any demand (stressor) that strains an individual's adaptive capacity; eustress (positive stress) enhances performance while distress (negative stress) impairs health and functioning.
2. Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) describes three stages of the stress response: Alarm (fight-or-flight, adrenaline surge) → Resistance (body adapts and tries to cope) → Exhaustion (resources depleted, illness results).
3. Occupational stress arises from work-related demands — role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload, poor working conditions, lack of control, and interpersonal conflicts at the workplace.
4. Burnout (Maslach, 1981) is a state of chronic workplace stress characterised by three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (cynicism, detachment), and reduced sense of personal accomplishment. It is distinct from acute stress.
5. Type A personality individuals are competitive, time-urgent, hostile, and achievement-driven — they are significantly more prone to occupational stress and cardiovascular disease. Type B individuals are relaxed, patient, and less competitive.
6. The Big Five personality traits (OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) influence stress vulnerability; high Neuroticism is strongly linked to stress susceptibility and burnout while high Conscientiousness is protective.
7. Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model (1984) proposes that stress is not an objective event but results from the person's cognitive appraisal: primary appraisal (is it threatening?) and secondary appraisal (can I cope with it?).
8. Problem-focused coping strategies target the source of stress directly (time management, skill development, assertiveness); emotion-focused coping regulates the emotional response (relaxation, social support, positive reappraisal). Both are adaptive in different contexts.
9. Gender and stress: Women face additional stressors from the double burden (paid work + unpaid domestic/care work), gender-based discrimination, harassment, and role overload; men face social norms suppressing emotional expression, increasing risk of externalised coping (substance use).
10. Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the standard tool for measuring burnout across three subscales; similarly, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Sheldon Cohen (1983) and Occupational Stress Index (OSI) by Srivastava and Singh (1981) are widely used in India.
11. Organizational interventions to manage stress include: employee assistance programmes (EAPs), flexible work arrangements, mentoring, clear role definitions, and promoting psychological safety; these address stress at the systemic rather than only the individual level.
12. Hardiness (Kobasa, 1979) is a stress-buffering personality pattern comprising Commitment (engaging fully), Control (believing one can influence outcomes), and Challenge (viewing change as growth opportunity); hardy individuals show lower burnout even under heavy occupational demands.

Key facts

Burnout (Maslach, 1981) is a state of chronic workplace stress characterised by three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (cynicism, d…
Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model (1984) proposes that stress is not an objective event but results from the person's cognitive appraisal: pri…
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the standard tool for measuring burnout across three subscales;
Hardiness (Kobasa, 1979) is a stress-buffering personality pattern comprising Commitment (engaging fully), Control (believing one can influence outcom…

Key Points at a Glance

1
Stress is a physiological and psychological response to any demand (stressor) that strains an individual's adaptive capacity; eustress (positive stress) enhances performance while distress (negative stress) impairs health and functioning.
2
Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) describes three stages of the stress response: Alarm (fight-or-flight, adrenaline surge) → Resistance (body adapts and tries to cope) → Exhaustion (resources depleted, illness results).
3
Occupational stress arises from work-related demands — role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload, poor working conditions, lack of control, and interpersonal conflicts at the workplace.
4
Burnout (Maslach, 1981) is a state of chronic workplace stress characterised by three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation (cynicism, detachment), and reduced sense of personal accomplishment. It is distinct from acute stress.
5
Type A personality individuals are competitive, time-urgent, hostile, and achievement-driven — they are significantly more prone to occupational stress and cardiovascular disease. Type B individuals are relaxed, patient, and less competitive.
6
The Big Five personality traits (OCEAN: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) influence stress vulnerability; high Neuroticism is strongly linked to stress susceptibility and burnout while high Conscientiousness is protective.
7
Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model (1984) proposes that stress is not an objective event but results from the person's cognitive appraisal: primary appraisal (is it threatening?) and secondary appraisal (can I cope with it?).
8
Problem-focused coping strategies target the source of stress directly (time management, skill development, assertiveness); emotion-focused coping regulates the emotional response (relaxation, social support, positive reappraisal). Both are adaptive in different contexts.
9
Gender and stress: Women face additional stressors from the double burden (paid work + unpaid domestic/care work), gender-based discrimination, harassment, and role overload; men face social norms suppressing emotional expression, increasing risk of externalised coping (substance use).
10
Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is the standard tool for measuring burnout across three subscales; similarly, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) by Sheldon Cohen (1983) and Occupational Stress Index (OSI) by Srivastava and Singh (1981) are widely used in India.
11
Organizational interventions to manage stress include: employee assistance programmes (EAPs), flexible work arrangements, mentoring, clear role definitions, and promoting psychological safety; these address stress at the systemic rather than only the individual level.
12
Hardiness (Kobasa, 1979) is a stress-buffering personality pattern comprising Commitment (engaging fully), Control (believing one can influence outcomes), and Challenge (viewing change as growth opportunity); hardy individuals show lower burnout even under heavy occupational demands.

Introduction: Understanding Stress and Burnout

Stress and burnout are core psychology concepts because they explain how sustained demands affect health, performance, motivation, and public-service functioning. Stress is one of the most studied phenomena in psychology and occupational health. In the context of the RAS examination, understanding stress is important both as a behavioural science concept and as a practical reality for public servants who experience significant role demands, resource constraints, and public accountability. According to the World Health Organization's 2025 mental disorders fact sheet, nearly 1 in 7 people in the world live with a mental disorder.

The word "stress" was borrowed from physics (where it means force applied per unit area) and popularised in the biological context by Hans Selye in the 1930s. Selye defined stress as "the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it." This definition emphasises two key ideas: first, the response is physiological (not just psychological); second, the stressor can be almost anything - physical threat, emotional challenge, cognitive overload, or even positive events like promotion.

Burnout - a related but distinct concept - emerged in the 1970s when psychologist Herbert Freudenberger (1974) described the "burning out" he observed in volunteer workers at a free clinic. Christina Maslach's subsequent research formalised burnout as a measurable psychological construct, distinct from simple fatigue or depression.

For RAS candidates, the key exam contexts for these topics are:

What is stress, and what are its stages?
How does personality (Type A/B, Big Five, Hardiness) relate to stress vulnerability?
What are coping strategies, and how do they differ?
What unique stressors do women face in professional settings?

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PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M What is the difference between stress and burnout? 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

Stress involves overengagement — excessive physiological and emotional arousal in response to demands. Burnout (Maslach, 1981) is chronic workplace syndrome characterised by emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and reduced personal accomplishment — a state of disengagement. Stress is acute and recoverable with rest; burnout is gradual and requires structural workplace changes.

~50 words • 5 marks