Case study on motivation and burnout in human service work

The purpose of the case study is to gather knowledge about the phenomenon of motivation in relation to burnout, which is grounded in practice (e.g., personal meanings and subjective interpretations). The research interest is directed towards answering the question of “How to understand work motivation in relation to burnout in the context of human service work?” In a first step literature on the relation between work motivation and burnout is reviewed. In a second step, a qualitative case-study investigation among midwives is realized. The case-study takes itÆs offset in a quantitative investigation of burnout in different Danish work settings (PUMA), one of which is the human service sector. Midwives reported the highest degree of client, personal and work related burnout (Borritz & Kristensen, 2000). In order to understand and interpret this outcome in relation to work motivation it seems to be important to address this group in their everyday life and practice with methods concentrating on interpretative meaning. Participant observation, single qualitative research interviews, as well as group-interviews are realized to answer the research question.