Rethinking Self-Care in Occupational Stress

Rethinking Self-Care in Occupational Stress

Aaron P. B. Smith, Colleen McMillan
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 15
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-6543-1.ch022
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Abstract

An abundance of literature on the subject of self-care reveals many understandings and, the authors suggest, misunderstandings, regarding self-care. Such (mis)understandings have impacted how both individuals and organizations alike have approached and even prescribed self-care practices. This chapter reviews several common (mis)understandings of self-care, including the notion of work-life balance, the disconnect between self-care theory and reality, and self-care and its relationship to occupational stress. Finally, drawing on both literature and the authors' experiences as therapists and educators, this chapter discusses how rethinking self-care can help individuals and organizations shift understandings of self-care, and in so doing, establish novel strategies for practicing self-care and dealing with occupational stress.
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Methodology

We followed the methodological approach of curation (Serafini & Reid, 2019) to select secondary sources and to understand the meanings and relationships between multiple and intersecting concepts related to self-care. Curation is described as a form of content analysis in that it allows researchers to identify, refine, interpret, and present social constructions while also inviting questions and efforts to interpret the material presented. Since the concept of self-care is subjective and transitory in nature, curation was determined as the best conceptual approach to select literature related to this topic. Curation is also closely aligned to experiential knowledge as authors are required to explore a priori assumptions prior to literature selection. As academics and therapists, we regularly reflect upon our own challenges related to self-care within our family and work relationships and the multiple systems that employ us. In fact, these a priori assumptions became the catalyst for this chapter.

As mentioned, curation allowed the identification of various concepts related to self-care, including stress, burnout, work-life balance, and compassion fatigue, among others. While the subjective nature of such concepts defies a static definition, we share our working definitions for purposes of clarity.

Table 1.
Definitions of concepts associated with work-life balance
Burnout“A psychological syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment” (Mazurkiewicz et al., 2012, p. 188) typically emerging over time as a response to prolonged stress.
Compassion Fatigue“The cost of caring for others or their emotional pain, resulting from the desire to relieve the suffering of others” (Ruiz-Fernández et al., 2020, p. 4322).
Self-careTaking action to preserve or improve physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and wellness.
Stress“A feeling of emotional or physical tension” (AIS, 2020, para. 2) representing the body's reaction to a challenge or demand.
Occupational Stress“The ongoing or progressing stress an employee experiences due to the responsibilities, conditions, environment, or other pressures of the workplace.” (MacDonald, 2021, para. 2)
Work-life BalanceHow one distributes their time between personal and professional obligations.

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