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My theory on burnout is that it arises when the effort you put in doesn't have a meaningful impact because of misalignment or a lack of autonomy. It's like push

by gdubs 2y ago

My theory on burnout is that it arises when the effort you put in doesn't have a meaningful impact because of misalignment or a lack of autonomy. It's like pushing on a lever but the gears are jammed. You're asked to push and push harder, but nobody in a position of power is willing to fix the damn gears. I've worked harder than imaginable in my life on projects without burning out, because the work was incredibly fulfilling — and it fit well with my core beliefs, interests, values. And then I've burnt out from putting tons of unrecognized effort into projects where I lacked adequate leverage to change things. People won't always look after you and burnout can be hard to recover from — harder than you might think. So take care of yourself — and never stop looking for work that aligns with your core values, interests, and the kind of life you want to build.

Aurornis 2y ago
I’ve done some volunteering mentoring over the years. Burnout is on the rise, but not in the way I expected. The definition of burnout continues to expand as it becomes further embedded in common vernacular. It was tough for us doing the mentoring because someone telling us they were experiencing burnout could have meant anything from a severe condition resulting from years of extreme effort against personal and professional headwinds, to the person who was simply bored at work and needed a long weekend with friends to recover. I’m not trying to gatekeep, but rather point out that there is no longer a single definition of burnout. There are parallels to how conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder are now being diagnosed in alarmingly high numbers, but when you look closer you realize that the common definition has been stretch far from the original narrow definition. This creates some difficulty for people experiencing the deepest burnout. When their peers think “burnout” is just a word that means you’re kind of tired and bored in a way that can be easily fixed with a good vacation. I’ve also noticed a growing trend of people with clear signs of depression mistaking it for burnout. These situations are very concerning for me because by now I’ve seen a lot of people quit their jobs due to “burnout” and then their symptoms get progressively worse, not better, because their real problems were not primarily the result of their job. This problem is becoming more common as “burnout” trends on social media and news headlines with empty advice. Your advice about being actively engaged in directing your own career toward something interesting is much better than the drivel that passes for burnout advice on social media and cheap news articles these days.
- yarg 2y ago
  I'd like to see brain scans of burnt out people contrasted with those of people with PTSD. With a more than fair share of both, I'm not sure that they're genuinely distinct phenomena. I'd also be interested in how either/both tie in to depression.
- sureglymop 2y ago
  Would you mind providing a source for the claim about ASS being diagnosed in alarmingly high numbers? Also, at least in the DSM-5 the definition was actually narrowed recently.
  - TeMPOraL 2y ago
    There is none, because "alarmingly high" is a subjective metric, that can range from epsilon above 0% to epsilon below 100%, depending on who you ask.
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  Yeah, AFAIK burnout is pretty much defined as something that you cannot recover from (at a similar level of functioning as before), so "can be hard to recover from" sounds weird...
- BehindBlueEyes 2y ago
  An increasing number of my colleagues are using burnout for entirely inappropriate reason like "I was so burnt out last year from all the travel and vacation planning". It is so disrespectful to those with actual burnout when the term is used to complain about how privileged one's life is.
paulcole 2y ago
Your theory matches up with how the WHO defines burn out: https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupat...
nxpnsv 2y ago
Even when you are in charge and you find your work meaningful you can burn out. That is certainly how I went down that road...

by gdubs 2y ago

Aurornis 2y ago

I’ve done some volunteering mentoring over the years. Burnout is on the rise, but not in the way I expected. The definition of burnout continues to expand as it becomes further embedded in common vernacular. It was tough for us doing the mentoring because someone telling us they were experiencing burnout could have meant anything from a severe condition resulting from years of extreme effort against personal and professional headwinds, to the person who was simply bored at work and needed a long weekend with friends to recover. I’m not trying to gatekeep, but rather point out that there is no longer a single definition of burnout. There are parallels to how conditions like Autism Spectrum Disorder are now being diagnosed in alarmingly high numbers, but when you look closer you realize that the common definition has been stretch far from the original narrow definition. This creates some difficulty for people experiencing the deepest burnout. When their peers think “burnout” is just a word that means you’re kind of tired and bored in a way that can be easily fixed with a good vacation. I’ve also noticed a growing trend of people with clear signs of depression mistaking it for burnout. These situations are very concerning for me because by now I’ve seen a lot of people quit their jobs due to “burnout” and then their symptoms get progressively worse, not better, because their real problems were not primarily the result of their job. This problem is becoming more common as “burnout” trends on social media and news headlines with empty advice. Your advice about being actively engaged in directing your own career toward something interesting is much better than the drivel that passes for burnout advice on social media and cheap news articles these days.

yarg 2y ago
I'd like to see brain scans of burnt out people contrasted with those of people with PTSD. With a more than fair share of both, I'm not sure that they're genuinely distinct phenomena. I'd also be interested in how either/both tie in to depression.
sureglymop 2y ago
Would you mind providing a source for the claim about ASS being diagnosed in alarmingly high numbers? Also, at least in the DSM-5 the definition was actually narrowed recently.
- TeMPOraL 2y ago
  There is none, because "alarmingly high" is a subjective metric, that can range from epsilon above 0% to epsilon below 100%, depending on who you ask.
BlueTemplar 2y ago
Yeah, AFAIK burnout is pretty much defined as something that you cannot recover from (at a similar level of functioning as before), so "can be hard to recover from" sounds weird...
BehindBlueEyes 2y ago
An increasing number of my colleagues are using burnout for entirely inappropriate reason like "I was so burnt out last year from all the travel and vacation planning". It is so disrespectful to those with actual burnout when the term is used to complain about how privileged one's life is.

paulcole 2y ago

Your theory matches up with how the WHO defines burn out: https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupat...

nxpnsv 2y ago

Even when you are in charge and you find your work meaningful you can burn out. That is certainly how I went down that road...