Divine Calling: Qualitative Case Concerning Job Burnout Dilemma for Pastors

Pastors always smile when they greet parishioners. They ask about family and then give encouragement. Their demeanor often hides the inner turmoil of job burnout. Using the conceptual framework of job demands-resources theory, this qualitative explanatory case study was designed to describe and expl...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Jones, Pamela D. (Author) ; Gordon, Pamela A. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science Business Media B. V. 2023
In: Pastoral psychology
Year: 2023, Volume: 72, Issue: 2, Pages: 277-288
Further subjects:B Job demands-resources theory
B Qualitative explanatory case study
B Employee well-being
B job burnout
B Lutheran
B Clergy
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:Pastors always smile when they greet parishioners. They ask about family and then give encouragement. Their demeanor often hides the inner turmoil of job burnout. Using the conceptual framework of job demands-resources theory, this qualitative explanatory case study was designed to describe and explain the perceptions and experiences of Lutheran pastors regarding job burnout. The job demands-resources theory seeks to understand, explain, and make predictions about job burnout and overall employee well-being. The specific problem was that Lutheran pastors in the United States experience job burnout because of their dual roles as spiritual leader and administrative leader of an organization, causing added stress, less effectiveness, and high attrition from the ministry. Pastors were interviewed to gain personal perceptions regarding job burnout. The sample consisted of nine active pastors from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the greater Houston, Texas, area. The job burnout experienced by these Lutheran pastors was sometimes very intense, affecting their personal psychological and physical well-being. Reasons for the job burnout included pastors not being trained to be managers, pastors’ conflicts with congregations, pastors trying to meet other people’s expectations, and pastors being worn out from day-to-day activities. Identifying the causes of job burnout among Lutheran pastors may be relevant to clergy of a variety of religions and employees across professional spectrums in numerous countries because identifying causes of job burnout may help professionals create solutions for combating job burnout.
ISSN:1573-6679
Contains:Enthalten in: Pastoral psychology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11089-022-01034-y