Employee burnout is an unpleasant mixture of work stress, exhaustion, and negative feelings. It’s closely connected to the nature of the job and the workplace environment. The World Health Organisation defines work burnout as follows:
Burnout is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It 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.
Not that long ago, employee burnout was viewed as a workers’ problem and something that they had to manage if they were going to make a success of their career. Increasingly, though, employee burnout is considered a problem with the company, not the workers, and it’s up to business leaders to address the issue.