Burnout (psychology)

There is no generally accepted definition for the term burnout. The term is not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the standard guide for classifying mental disorders in the United States. Herbert Freudenberger, an American psychoanalyst who is generally credited with coining the term, used the analogy of a burned-out building to refer to a syndrome he observed in his clients, most of whom were high-achievers who had lost their optimism, passion for life, and sense of purpose. Freudenberger’s work and other early studies linked burnout to the caring professions, such as nurses, school teachers, legal-aid workers, social workers, and clergy, but studies have expanded those susceptible to the syndrome to include groups as varied as bankers, managers, homemakers, students, and other populations exposed to chronic stress.

Overview

Freudenberger’s early studies were conducted in the early 1970s, the tumultuous era of the Watergate scandal, the Vietnam War, gasoline shortages, job instability, and economic uncertainty. His clients, mostly idealists who believed in the individual’s power to effect change, were highly vulnerable to disillusionment. They suffered from physical and emotional exhaustion, became cynical and detached, and were overwhelmed by contempt for themselves and for the people they were trying to help. Christina Maslach, author of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, an instrument for measuring burnout that has been widely used since it was introduced in 1981, focused on subjects similar to Freudenberger’s clients because people in those professions were most willing to allow researchers access. She identified three dimensions of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Although Maslach has found corporate culture in the twenty-first century more open to burnout studies, given the numbers of promising young employees who are leaving positions, she theorizes that the conditions that lead to what has been described as an “epidemic” of burnout hold true: overwork, presence of injustice, weak social support, lack of control, conflicting values, and inadequate rewards (money, prestige, or affirmation).

Burnout appears to develop in inverse proportion to length of time in an occupation. Maslach concluded from her early studies that workers in social-service agencies were most likely to experience burnout within their first five years of employment. One report suggests that from 40 to 50 percent of public school teachers, another group with high burnout rates (as high as 30 percent according to some studies) leave the profession during their first five years. A University of Michigan study found that younger surgeons suffer burnout at a higher rate than their more experienced colleagues. Given that burnout is often the result of rewards failing to meet expectations, the higher burnout rate among young employees is not surprising. Other factors that may affect the age discrepancy is that single people and those without children are more likely to experience burnout than those in good marriages and those with children.

Burnout is costly for the individual and for society. Psychiatric symptoms of burnout include fatigue, exhaustion, difficulty concentrating, memory problems (including a lack of precision and organization), and personality changes (disinterest, cynicism, aggression). Substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and even suicide have also been linked to burnout. Common physical symptoms include headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, and cardiovascular problems such as tachycardia, arrhythmia, and hypertonia. Social consequences may include withdrawal at the workplace, marital or sexual problems, and social isolation.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), significant numbers of workers experience a loss of productivity due to stress. In 2021 APA researchers found that 79 percent of workers in the US had experienced burnout at some point in the previous month; these individuals reported a number of related symptoms such as low energy, physical fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. A 2022 estimate from research firm Gallup produced similar results and suggested that 76 percent of workers experience burnout at least some of the time.

In general, burnout continues to be closely studied as experts consider understanding the causes of burnout and the best methods to avoid it as crucial to maximizing employee health, satisfaction, productivity, and creativity. The root of burnout is often deeper than just total work hours, as work experiences such as insufficient managerial support and communication; unreasonable workloads, expectations, and time pressures; and treatment viewed as unjust were also found to be major contributors to burnout.

Burnout attracted significant media coverage in the early 2020s due to the exacerbated stress of the chaotic public health crisis that emerged with the declaration of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in March 2020. Particularly as the health care system in the United States was rapidly overwhelmed by the influx of people infected with COVID-19, calls were increasingly made for reforms to decrease physician burnout that had already been an issue. Because the pandemic led to nationwide lockdowns, quarantines, and shifts to working from home to contain the spread of the virus, larger numbers of people were at risk of, or reported struggling from, burnout due to greater childcare responsibilities, less structure, and reduced work-life balance. Some economists and mental health professionals suggested that employee burnout may have played at least a partial role in the Great Resignation, a term referring to the surging rates of people quitting their jobs in the early 2020s.

One aspect of work-related burnout which emerged alongside the COVID-19 pandemic was the concept of so-called Zoom fatigue, a type of burnout or anxiety affecting individuals engaged in remote work, particularly those who make heavy use of videoconferencing technologies such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams. This phenomenon was often discussed alongside larger conversations regard the negative mental health impacts of excessive screen time.

Simple self-care strategies for combatting burnout include getting sufficient rest and exercise, engaging in relaxation techniques such as meditation, focusing on non-work-related social activities such as hobbies or volunteering, limiting exposure to communications technology, and organizing one's priorities while advocating for flexibility. Attitude adjustment, emotional support from loved ones and counseling professionals, and self-reflection about specific stressors can help as well.

Bibliography

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