Meanings of staying healthy in a context where others developed burnout – phenomenological‐hermeneutic interpretation of healthcare personnel’s narratives

Abstract

Burnout has become a major problem in many industrialized countries, but not everyone at the same work place develops burnout. The present paper aimed to illuminate meanings of staying healthy in a context where others developed burnout as narrated by healthcare personnel. Interviews were conducted with 20 healthcare personnel and were interpreted using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method. The result shows that the meanings of staying healthy are to be rooted in an outlook on life perceiving its many-sidedness and the strengths and weaknesses of oneself and others with forbearance. One is striving to shoulder responsibility for oneself and for others and is also receptive towards the circumstances of life, striving to judge the possibilities of being and acting in order to attempt to influence things in what is believed to be the right direction. Being able to let go of injustice and look after oneself with a clear conscience is also revealed as meanings of staying healthy. In conclusion, forbearance with life's many-sidedness seems to pervade one's experiences, judgements and actions in life when dealing with one's reality, and thus, it is interpreted as essential for staying healthy in a context where others developed burnout. This study is ethically approved.