I have surmised that it is a feeling of "chronic stress" (as differentiated from transient, acute stress), in particular due to psychological entropy. This is a

I have surmised that it is a feeling of "chronic stress" (as differentiated from transient, acute stress), in particular due to psychological entropy. This is a general lack of direction, purpose, coherence, comprehension - all aggregating into a rudderless feeling of "what the hell am I doing?" It is not from people working too hard - people work hard all the time without burnout. They burnout when they work hard and fail, or have doubts about their success. Conversely, it also can happen when people work too little. That's because it is not about effort. It is about an absence of meaning (purpose) that causes us to "burn out" in any discernible forward direction. It is similar to depression: you don't know which way is up. It can happen at work, but also in a relationship, within a family, with friends, etc.