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Burnout​—Who Is at Risk and Why?

IMAGINE yourself as an office worker with a family​—or maybe you are one. Work is piled up on your desk. The phone rings incessantly with customers’ demands that are next to impossible to meet. Your supervisor is displeased that you are not meeting the quota. Your son is in trouble at school. The teacher wants to see you immediately. Your pleas for help to your spouse are met with indifference. When the situation seems out of hand, stress becomes distress, paving the way for burnout.

Is burnout caused by overwork? Ann McGee-​Cooper, a brain researcher, said that burnout is “the result of living out of balance, typically in an all-​work/​no-​play spiral.” Overwork, however, is not the only factor; under the same pressure and circumstances, some burn out while others do not.

Likely Victims of Burnout

Just as there are people who are more likely to be infected with a certain disease, there are types of people who are more likely to burn out. “In order to suffer from burnout,” says Elliot Aronson, professor of social psychology at the University of California, “you must first be on fire.” So those prone to burn out are afire with high goals and ideals. It is said that those who suffer burnout are often a company’s best people.

Summing up the personality traits of likely victims of burnout, Professor Fumiaki Inaoka of the Japanese Red Cross College of Nursing, wrote in the book, Moetsukishokogun (Burnout Syndrome): “Those who are inclined to burn out have strong tendencies to be sympathetic, human, delicate, dedicated, and idealistic. They are not machine oriented but ‘human oriented,’ so to speak.”

Asked to develop a test to screen out those who are likely to burn out, a specialist said that the test should instead be used as a hiring standard. “What companies need to do,” he said, “is find the people who care enough to burn out . . . and then develop programs to combat burnout.”

Especially vulnerable are those involved in human-​oriented services, such as social workers, doctors, nurses, and teachers. They eagerly try to help people, giving of themselves to improve the lives of others, and may burn out when they realize they are not achieving the sometimes unattainable goals they have set for themselves. Caring mothers can also burn out for the same reason.

Why People Burn Out

A survey taken among nurses revealed three factors leading to burnout. First noted was the amount of daily hassles causing frustration. For example, the majority of the nurses had to carry weighty responsibilities, handle difficulties in dealing with patients, adjust to new equipment, face mounting expenses, and put up with an irregular life-​style. “These daily hassles constitute the greatest influence toward their burnout,” says the book Moetsukishokogun. When problems remain unsolved, frustration simply builds up and leads to burnout.

The second factor noted was lack of support, not having someone to confide in. Thus, a mother who isolates herself from other mothers is more likely to burn out. The above-​mentioned survey found that single nurses are more prone to burn out than those who are married. Nonetheless, being married can increase daily hassles if there is no open communication between husband and wife. Even when everyone is home, a person may find himself alone because his family is absorbed in watching television.

The third factor was feelings of helplessness. For instance, nurses are more likely to experience feelings of helplessness than doctors because nurses may lack the authority to change things. Those in middle management may burn out when they feel their greatest efforts are not taking them anywhere. As a human-​resources manager said, burnout comes from being “frustrated by trying to make an impact and not being listened to.”

Feelings of helplessness in humans germinate in a soil of unappreciative attitudes and bear the fruit of burnout. Wives burn out when their husbands fail to acknowledge the amount of work involved in homemaking and taking care of the children. The middle managers burn out when a boss ignores a job well done and picks on them for minor mistakes. “The bottom line is that we all need to have our efforts appreciated and acknowledged,” says Parents magazine, “and if we work in a place that does not reward our efforts​—be it our home or our office—​then we’re more likely to suffer from burnout.”

Interestingly, while nurses experience high percentages of burnout, obstetricians suffer considerably less. Generally speaking, an obstetrician’s work involves helping new lives come into the world. Mothers and fathers thank them for their work. When appreciated, people feel that they are useful and are motivated.

As soon as one knows who tends to burn out and why, it becomes easier to deal with the problem. The following article can help burnout victims to have a balanced approach to life.

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Burnout is a result of an all-​work/​no-​play spiral