Burnout

HR Articles - What is ?

Burnout is a form of stress which is caused due to emotional or physical exhaustion, lowered job productivity or over-depersonalisation. Once stress has reached the second phase of the continuum, severe changes begin to appear in the individual, these changes result in excessive behaviour which serves as burnout indicators.

The term burnout is quickly becoming a part of an organisations vocabulary and the severe stress associated with burnout is causing great harm to the executives and to the organization’s productivity. Burnout need not be totally associated with the negative stressors of one's life people's dreams
and ambitions and how they attempt to fulfill them also lead to burnout. The major causes of burnout are the three facts of life which are:

(1) The responsibilities of solid middle class lifestyle which are exceptionally high.
(2) The work pattern now-a-days which is more mental than physical.
(3) The health link between mental and physical well being which is clearly established.

Realising that burnout is a fact of life it must be tackled, the HR manager could conduct formal surveys, introduce TECHNIQUES of stress management, redesign jobs and support groups, arrange counselling, all these indeed would help us to reduce burnout to a great extent.

What is the difference between stress and burnout

Burnout is not simply excessive stress. Rather, it is a complex human reaction to ongoing stress, and it relates to feeling that your inner resources are inadequate for managing the tasks and situations presented to you. The signs and symptoms of burnout are similar to those of stress, but burnout includes an emotional exhaustion and an increasingly negative attitude toward your work and, perhaps, your life

Source: HR Concepts

Compiled and Edited by

Mr. S. Murugesan - Lecturer

Dr. P. N. Narayana Raja - Principal

Madurai Institute of Social Sciences

(Run by: DVR Foundation for HRD)

Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India