ABSTRACT
The workload issue is very topical in the private as well as the public sector. Welfare services, schools, hospitals, rest homes, child welfare services and the like are all complaining about excessive workloads and the adverse effect this is having on the quality of the services rendered, and they are demanding measures. In this chapter, the authors approach the welfare sector as a production system. They outline how a production system in this sector may be defined, which elements are required, and how one can succeed in gaining control inside and outside the system. The authors put their model to practical use in a study of the workload in the special child and youth care services in Flanders. They show that the occurrence of burnout is due to organizational factors as well as to the relationships between colleagues. A strong local leadership at work could have a positive impact on the incidence of burnout by enhancing collegiality.
