Burnout and mental health among Spanish workers engaged in educational and inclusion practices in the third sector of social action

The purpose of this research was to analyse the prevalence and frequency of the syndrome of burnout in professionals engaged in educational and social inclusion activities targeting vulnerable populations in the third sector of social action. The study also examined associations between burnout and various socio-demographic factors, work factors, and mental health factors. The sample consisted of 141 workers (e. g., social educators) of 21 centres of a third-sector social action organization located in different Spanish provinces. To measure burnout and mental health, two standardised instruments were used: the CESQT and the Spanish version of the GHQ-12. Though high levels of enthusiasm for work were reported, high rates of mental exhaustion were also reported, the latter being more prevalent and frequent in women than in men. On the other hand, 30.16 % of the participants presented symptoms of psychological morbidity. Applied generalized linear models revealed that enthusiasm for work and mental exhaustion were significant predictors of psychological morbidity in these workers. We propose as a future direction of research the need to evaluate psychosocial conditions in such organizations and implement psycho-educational interventions to promote the socio-emotional skills of workers, to improve management strategies, and to help workers face adverse and stressful situations.