What is burnout?
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
According to the WHO, burnout is characterized by three dimensions:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
- Reduced professional efficacy
The WHO also emphasizes two important points:
- Burnout is an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition or mental disorder.
- It “refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
