Since the pandemic, the term “burnout” seems everywhere. But is burnout something that’s always existed at work, or is it a modern phenomenon? Have jobs changed or have workers' expectations and needs shifted?

Christina Maslach, an emerita professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, has pioneered research on burnout. For decades, she’s studied its causes, effects, and potential remedies. Her work has led to many books on the subject, including The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs. 

Christina and Greg chat about the history of the term “burnout,” how it’s not merely a result of heavy workloads but also stems from the quality of work and the surrounding work environment, and the six core needs essential for employee well-being. 

*unSILOed Podcast is produced by University FM.*

Episode Quotes:

Is it burnout or are you just exhausted?

33:41: People often assume that if they're exhausted because of long hours and lots in a big load, is that burnout? And I'll say, "No, you're exhausted, but do you still like your job?” Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's a great job kind of thing. How do you feel about the work you're doing? Oh, I'm good at this. I said, "You're not burned out. You are what we call overextended, and it's the exhaustion, and it's often a high workload and unable to get enough rest and recovery and stuff like that.” But that's what we call job burnout when the other two things kick in as well. It's not just that you're highly stressed. There is more than that. If you still love what you do and still feel good about what you're doing, there's all these other things about the work that are positive; you'll be more willing to cope with that and figure out how to deal with it, and so forth. It's just not another word for stress, and it's that negative, cynical response to the job that is, in a sense, more the hallmark of burnout. That's really what makes it job burnout, as opposed to people use burnout for everything.

Components of a burnout response

10:21: These are the three components of a full burnout response: The exhaustion of the stress response, the cynicism, the negative distancing from the job, and the negative self-assessment of my own effectiveness in this job. 

What can help in dealing with burnout in the workplace?

37:59: Often, when I've asked people if you could have something that you think would help, in terms of dealing with burnout, they will say, "Somebody who is a mentor, somebody, a safe harbor, somebody I can go to, or some people that I can go to and talk to, and we work out problems, or I get advice, or they help me out, and I do the same for other people, it's reciprocal, and that kind of thing," and if I feel I can't ever trust anybody that has been, a real cause of, I could do this work somewhere else. But if people talk about colleagues, they're like gold.

People do not recover as well from chronic stressors as they do from occasional stressors

07:09: Chronic job stressors—that means they're there all the time. They don't go away. You think you've dealt with something, and here I am all over again dealing with this. What we know from decades of work on stress and coping is that people do not recover as well from chronic stressors as they do from occasional stressors.

Show Links:

Recommended Resources:

• Harrison Gough 
• “The measurement of explained burnout” | Journal of Organizational Behavior 
• Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon” 
• Frederick Winslow Taylor
• Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance―and What We Can Do About It by Jeffrey Pfeffer
• “Globally, Employees Are More Engaged — and More Stressed” | Gallup, 2023

Guest Profile:

• Faculty Profile at UC Berkeley

Her Work:

• The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs
• The Truth About Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to Do About It 
• Banishing Burnout: Six Strategies for Improving Your Relationship with Work