Abstract:
Burnout is a state of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion resulting in job dissatisfaction,
lowered productivity, absenteeism and high turnover at the workplace. Student Affairs
Personnel in universities are often required to spend considerable and intense time with students
facing psychological, social and physical problems coupled with feelings of frustration, anger,
embarrassment, fear, and despair. Such an environment can easily lead to burnout if not
checked. The purpose of this study was to establish the burnout mitigation measures applied and
recommend suitable approaches that can be adopted by all Kenyan Universities. The study was
guided by Maslach’s Multidimensional Theory and Holland’s Theory of Career Choice. The
causal – comparative study design was used. The target population was drawn from randomly
selected public and private universities in Kenya. This population constituted of personnel
working in the student affairs departments who were involved with students on a daily basis to
provide guidance and counseling services. Purposive sampling was used to select 179
respondents to form the required sample for the study. A Burnout Questionnaire for Student
Affairs Personnel (BQSAP) and Dean’s Interview Schedule (DIS) were the instruments used for
data collection. Data was analyzed descriptively by using Percentages, frequencies and means.
The responses obtained during interview schedules were presented as excerpts. The findings of
the study can be used to help in the creation of burnout awareness, coupled with adoption of
relevant counselling models among the affected staff. The assumption is that if one is aware of
the burnout level then he/she can adopt relevant interventional measures and/or coping
mechanisms.
