I see many people on social media posting about burnout & how to manage burnout — BUT almost always only as an individual way to self-manage stress.
However, I’d like to clear up this very popular, yet incorrect, misconception about burnout.
Burnout has become serious enough that the World Health Organization (WHO, 2019) included it in the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon, though not a medical condition.
According to ICD-11: “Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: 1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and 3) a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment. Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
Although burnout occurs at the individual level, the major contributing cause of burnout is at the organizational level.
Burnout is caused by an imbalance between high job demands and not enough resources.
What this means is that all the “self-care” you practice in the world will not effectively eradicate burnout IF the team, department, and/or company you work on and for is the source of that burnout.
For example, let’s say you take a wonderful and rejuvenating two-week vacation to Europe where you and your friends had the best time.
However, after this trip, you’ll have to go back to work. Here’s what many people misunderstand: Those two weeks of self-care cannot protect you from the SAME workplace stressors that you will now be returning to.
Remember: The system (i.e., the workplace) — NOT the employee — must be responsible for and has to be the one to change in order to truly “fix” burnout.
Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.
Organizational & Leadership Development Leader
Reference
World Health Organization (WHO). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon”. https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon