#Burnout
A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, officially recognized by WHO in 2019.
WHO Definition (2019)
Burnout is characterized by:
- Energy depletion/exhaustion
- Increased mental distance from job/cynicism
- Reduced professional efficacy
Beyond Work
While WHO defines burnout as work-related, the hashtag expanded to:
- Parental burnout
- Activist burnout
- Caregiver burnout
- Creative burnout
Signs
- Chronic exhaustion (sleep doesn’t help)
- Cynicism/detachment
- Feeling ineffective
- Physical symptoms (headaches, stomach issues)
- Irritability
- Loss of motivation
- Dread
Causes
- Unrealistic workload
- Lack of control
- Insufficient rewards
- Toxic work culture
- Values mismatch
- No work-life boundaries
Burnout vs. Depression
Burnout:
- Context-specific (work, caregiving)
- Improves with rest/change
Depression:
- Pervasive (all areas of life)
- Requires clinical treatment
(Can co-occur)
Recovery
Short-term:
- Rest (actual time off)
- Boundaries (saying no)
- Support
Long-term:
- Address root causes (job change, delegation)
- Values alignment
- Therapy
- Lifestyle changes
Cultural Moment
- 2019: “Burnout” named Word of the Year contender
- 2020-2022: Pandemic burnout epidemic
- 2021: “Great Resignation” linked to burnout
- Anne Helen Petersen’s Can’t Even (2020) analyzed millennial burnout
Resources
- Burnout (Emily & Amelia Nagoski, 2019)
- Can’t Even (Anne Helen Petersen, 2020)
- https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases