A very interesting article in this week’s Church Times described a tool specifically developed to measure clergy burn out. Called the ‘Francis Burnout Inventory’ (FBI) it was developed to measure work-related well-being, specifically for clergy. It is based on two measures related to ministry: emotional exhaustion and satisfaction.
The FBI was developed over two decades ago and today holds “enough data from a wide range of Christian ministers to know what sorts of levels of emotional exhaustion and satisfaction are typical, what factors are associated with different levels, and some of the consequences of those different levels.”
The data is so comprehensive that researchers from York St John University have been able to group respondent clergy into 5 different types:
- Those with low exhaustion and high satisfaction (“Cruising”),
- Those with high exhaustion and low satisfaction (“Creaking”),
- Those with high exhaustion and high satisfaction (“Compensating”),
- Those with low exhaustion and low satisfaction (“Coasting”), and
- A group in the middle with average levels of both exhaustion and satisfaction (“Central”).
Knowing which of these groups individual clergy fall into can therefore tell something about their vulnerability to burnout.
Researchers are now inviting all clergy and ministers to take part in a project that is assessing how well this instrument gives ministers insight into their well-being. If enough people do so, it will mean the tool can be refined and more effectively continue to ensure that ministers can fulfil their calling in healthy and satisfying ways.
Read the full article in the Church Times here. Use the link to complete the survey here.