Objectives:
People working with the elderly in geriatric care are exposed to high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout. The article is empirical in nature. The main aim of the research was to determine the relationship between levels of occupational burnout among employees in the geriatric care sector and their stress-coping styles.

Material and methods:
The research was conducted using a quantitative research strategy. The diagnostic survey method was applied, utilizing two standardized tools: the CISS Questionnaire and the Occupational Burnout Questionnaire. The study included 205 geriatric care workers employed in social welfare institutions for the elderly in the Lubelskie, Podkarpackie, and Mazowieckie provinces. The research was personally carried out by the authors from September 2020 to September 2021.

Results:
The first factor analyzed was emotional exhaustion, which affected as many as 94.15% of the respondents. Only 5.36% of participants exhibited a low level of emotional exhaustion, while just one person (0.49%) displayed a high level. Emotional exhaustion is characterized by an overwhelming sense of fatigue and the depletion of emotional resources.

Conclusions:
Employees in the gerontological care sector predominantly exhibited high levels of occupational burnout in terms of depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment, as well as moderate levels of burnout related to emotional exhaustion. Working in helping professions, which unfortunately hold relatively low social prestige in Poland, contributes to this phenomenon. Additional stressors include low salaries combined with relatively high educational and competency requirements.