But the stressors leading to job burnout, which accumulate with time, can become debilitating if employees do not recognize and find ways to cope with them. A stressful job environment can be toxic, Maslach told staff, faculty and students at a noontime talk hosted by the Berkeley Staff Assembly. There are enormous physical consequences, particularly with chronic stress. The author of several books on the subject including The Maslach Burnout Inventory, the most widely used measurement of job burnout both nationally and internationally Maslach has worked with various organizations to bring about organizational renewal in the fast-paced world of work today. The hallmark of burnout is cynicism, because once that sets in, it s really hard to change, she said.
Cynicism changes how people work, how they feel about themselves and how they interact with others.
In one of her books, The Truth About Burnout, Maslach draws an analogy between workplace burnout and psychological ergonomics. When we examine job burnout, we can ask if there is a good fit between the job environment and the individual, she said. We ve found that there are six areas in which that fit or mismatch makes a difference, she said. A mismatch will occur when any one of these external factors, such as workload or control over work, is out of whack with the worker s expectations and capabilities. When an employee feels there is a lack of control over the job, that individual interprets the situation as having little opportunity to use creativity and problem-solving abilities, she said.