What is ‘Burnout’?
Burnout is a state of mind that is caused by prolonged exposure to high levels of stress, in this case, from work that has not been properly managed. The Maslach Burnout Inventory characterized burnout to have three dimensions, which are exhaustion or emotional exhaustion, cynicism or depersonalization, and reduced professional efficacy or reduced personal achievement.
Symptoms of Burnout
People who are burning out can experience a multitude of symptoms ranging from1:
Feeling exhausted all the time at work
Unable to concentrate while doing work
Having problems with sleep
Easily irritated or annoyed with colleagues, clients, or customers
Lost motivation for your work
Losing sense of achievement
Wanting to quit your job
Experiencing unexplained physical pain
Some of the symptoms of burnout have been found to be similar to those of depression2. As such, people who are burning out might also experience symptoms like anhedonia (where you no longer enjoy carrying out normally pleasurable activities), depressed mood and suicide ideation, due to the emotional exhaustion dimension. It is also found that, compared to the other two dimensions, the emotional exhaustion dimension is closely associated with the ‘classical’ depressive symptoms. Because some of the burnout symptoms overlap depressive symptoms, it is recommended to seek a professional diagnosis and not self-diagnose for burnout.
Although burnout is experienced by many professions around the world, from physicians, nurses, office workers, teachers, students, or even psychologists, it is still yet to be considered as a mental illness. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5) does not list burnout as a mental illness, but in the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11) by the World Health Organization (WHO), it is listed as an occupational phenomenon and not classified as a medical condition3.
Possible Causes of Burnout
Based on numerous studies done on job stress and burnout, the job demands-resource model proposes that burnout happens when job demands and job resources are not balanced4. Job demands are aspects of the job that require physical or mental effort (ie. doing paperwork, preparing for presentation, etc.), while job resources are aspects of the job that assists in achieving work goals (ie. help from colleagues, supervisor coaching, etc.). Job resources help to reduce the strain from job demands, and when there are sufficient job resources, it can help prevent one from experiencing burnout.
Burnout often manifests itself when one experiences either one or a combination of these job stressors:
High workload
Time pressure
Unclear work demands
Lack of social support
In one study done on burnout5, people at risk of burning out may develop self-undermining behaviours. An example to this is when a person starts to avoid doing their work due to the exhaustion, they are less likely to put in much effort in their work and mistakes in their work might happen more often. And when they need to fix the mistakes, it will increase their workload and that means less time to relax and rest. This behaviour is dangerous as it can cause a vicious cycle of job demand and burnout.
In a review paper from 20146, burnout symptoms are shown to not be constant, and can vary from day to day depending on the work events that happen on that day as well as one’s daily recovery opportunities. For example, if an employee was scolded by their supervisor, the employee may feel more emotionally exhausted, become more cynic or may lose motivation to work for the rest of that day. If the employee was praised instead, they will the opposite. The amount of time a person is able to allocate for daily recovery from work is also indicative of their burnout symptoms for the day. Being able to detach themselves from work and fully relax can help prevent chronic fatigue from happening.
Detaching the self from work and being able to relax and enjoy your leisure time is very important to reduce the effects of feeling burnt out. If a person is not able to relax and enjoy time off of work, it might lead to burnout slowly developing. When burnout is not addressed properly, it can cause someone to be trapped in a vicious cycle of burnout.
Written by: Farah Iliya Zubair (MPS Psychological Services Intern)
Supervisor: Ms. Evelyn Soong
References
1. Mayo Clinic. (2020, November 20). Job burnout: How to spot it and take action. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
2. Bianchi, R., Schonfeld, I. S., Laurent, E. (2017). Burnout: Moving Beyond the Status Quo. International Journal of Stress Management, 26(1), 36-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/str0000088
3. World Health Organization. (2019, May 28). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
4. Guthier, C., Dormann, C., Voelkle, M. C. (2020). Psychological Bulletin, 146(12), 1146-1173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/bul0000304
5. Hakanen, J. J., Bakker, A. B. (2016). Born and Bred to Burn out: A Life-Course View and Reflections on Job Burnout. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 354-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ocp0000053
6. Xanthopoulou, D., & Meier, L. L. (2014). Daily burnout experiences: Critical events and measurement challenges. In M. P. Leiter, A. B. Bakker, & C. Maslach (Eds.), Burnout at work: A psychological perspective (pp. 80 –97). London, England: Taylor & Francis.
