Dr.

Mireille Elias

Chapter 4: Burn out

I. Definition of Burn out

II. The three dimensions of Burnt out
1. Emotional Exhaustion
2. Depersonalization
3. Reduced personal accomplishment
III. Stages of Burn out
1- The Honeymoon Stage
2- The Awaking stage
3- The Brownout stage
4- The Burn out phase.
5- The Habitual Burnout
IV. Causes of Burn out
1) Job Characteristics
2) Personality characteristics and Job attitudes
V. Burn out signals/signs:
1. Affective:
2. Cognitive:
3. Physical:
4. Behavioral:
5. Motivational:
VI. The difference between Burn out, and Stress, Depression
 Dr. Mireille Elias

Through life people spend a significant amount of time on work-related activities. One’s
job is of central importance to one’s identity and self-worth. Therefore, it does not
surprise that the job has the potential to seriously improve, but also harm a person’s well-
being.
I. Definition of Burn out
Burnout was first introduced by Freudenberg (1974) who defined Burn out as a
psychological syndrome arising from chronic job stress. The syndrome includes
progressive emotional exhaustion, loss of motivation or demoralization, and lack of
professional accomplishment.
It can be defined as feelings of exhaustion, a cynical attitude toward the job and people
involved in the job and through a reduced personal accomplishment or work efficiency.
In a radical meaning burnout takes away a person’s spirit and will. Contrary to a popular
understanding, burnout can be found also outside human service professions (e.g., Lee &
Ashforth, 1993, for managers). However, burnout still may be a greater problem in
occupations where employees are more in interaction with other people (clients,
customers, etc.) rather than dealing with things and information (Maslach et al., 2001).

II. The three dimensions of Burnt out

1. Emotional Exhaustion: corresponds with the notion of strain as it has been linked to
tension, anxiety, physical fatigue, insomnia, and so on. It was predicted to be associated
with psychological and physiological strain.
2. Depersonalization: corresponds to the notion of coping; through depersonalization,
the individual attempts to staunch the depletion of emotional energy by treating others as
objects or numbers rather than as people. It is a reactive and protective actions intended
to avoid an unwanted demand or reduce a perceived threat. Thus, depersonalization was
predicted to be associated with psychological strain and with escape as a method of
coping.
3. Reduced personal accomplishment: is the tendency to negatively evaluate the worth
of one’s work, feeling insufficient in regard to the ability to perform one’s job, and a
generalized poor professional self-esteem.

III. Stages of Burn out

1- The Honeymoon Stage: At this phase, the person is very excited about his work, and
he isn’t experiencing any stress related symptoms. His job satisfaction is high and he is
super committed, energetic, and highly creative.
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He strongly needs to work properly and feel delight with the colleagues, and with the
organization.
2- The Awaking stage: The happy times wane. The person realizes that their
expectations are unrealistic. Nothing satisfies their needs, neither rewards nor
recognition. He feels that life has been a mistake, but cannot handle it. When working
hard does not change anything, they feel tired and frustrated. Professional competence
and ability are reduced.
3- The Brownout stage: fatigue and irritability are prominent. The victim’s lifestyle is
changed in order to escape frustration. He will experience a notable change in his stress
levels from losing motivation to frequent tiredness. Work performance and productivity
obviously deteriorate. They may project frustration onto others in terms of cynicism,
detachment, and open criticism. Sometimes impulsive activities are seen as drinking,
drugs, partying, or shopping. He might also experiences procrastination at work and at
home, physical pain or illness, lack of interest, particularly in hobbies, feeling of pressure
intensifying.
4- The Burn out phase: the fourth stage is the crisis phase. He has reached a burnout,
from which it is not feasible to continue as if everything was ok. It is now crucial to get
help and support in order to recover and get out of this downward spiral. At this stage he
might experience: behavioral changes, feeling empty and lost inside, pessimistic mood,
self-doubt, social isolation, chronic headaches, and desire to move away from work or
friends or family.
5- The Habitual Burnout: the fifth stage is when his symptoms are so engrained in his
life that the burnout has become habitual. Because of this, his physical and emotional
issues will have taken over. At this stage he might experiences: chronic mental fatigue,
chronic physical fatigue and illness, depression, chronic sadness and burnout.

IV. Causes of Burn out

1) Job Characteristics: several job characteristics, such as excessive work demands and
a lack of resources may lead to more burnout. Workload, time pressure, role conflict and
role ambiguity are some of the most important “triggers” of burnout. Lack of social
support and job autonomy are harmful as well. When an organization / management /
supervisor has high expectations toward the employees but gives less in return, burnout is
also likely to develop.
2) Personality characteristics and Job attitudes: Employees who have an external
locus of control (i.e., who attribute life events and achievements to powerful others or
 Dr. Mireille Elias

chance rather than the own ability and effort) experience higher levels of burnout.
Ineffective coping with stressful situation may also increase the possibility of
experiencing burnout. Employees with defensive, passive coping way rather than
confronting coping tend to have higher levels of burnout. A person’s self-esteem plays
also a role in the development of burnout. People with lower levels of self-esteem are
more prone to burnout. In addition, personality characteristics such as hostility,
depression, vulnerability, competitiveness and excessive need for control are also related
to higher levels of burnout.
People differ also in their attitudes toward their job. Those with higher job expectations
toward the nature of work (e.g., perceiving work as challenging, fun) as well as the
success at work (e.g., getting everything done, curing patients) are also more prone to
burnout because they tend to work too much. Therefore, they are likely to be more
exhausted and also cynical toward the job when their expectation at not met.

V. Burn out signals/signs:

There are 5 types of level signals: affective, cognitive, physical, behavioral and
motivational.
1. Affective:
- At individual level: Depressed mood / changing moods, Tearfulness, Emotional
exhaustion, increased tension, anxiety.
- At interpersonal level: Irritability, being oversensitive, lessened emotional empathy
with clients / service recipients / patients. Increased anger
- At organizational level: Job dissatisfaction
2) Cognitive:
- At individual level: Helplessness / loss of meaning and hope, Feelings of powerlessness
feelings of being “trapped”, Sense of failure, Poor self-esteem, Guilt, Suicidal ideas,
Inability to concentrate / forgetfulness / difficulty with complex tasks
- At interpersonal level: Cynical and dehumanizing perceptions of clients / service
recipients / patients. Negativism / pessimism with respect to clients / service recipients /
patients, Labeling recipients in derogatory ways
- At organizational level: Cynicism about work role. Distrust in management, peers and
supervisors
3. Physical:
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- At individual level: Headaches, Nausea, Dizziness, Muscle pain, Sleep disturbances,

Ulcer / gastrointestinal disorders, Chronic fatigue
4. Behavioral:
- At individual level: Hyperactivity / impulsivity, Increased consumption of: caffeine,
alcohol, illicit drugs, Abandonment of recreational activities, Compulsive complaining /
denial
- At interpersonal level: Violent outbursts, Propensity for violent and aggressive
behavior, Aggressiveness toward clients / service recipients / patients, Interpersonal,
marital and family conflicts, Social isolation and withdrawal, Responding to clients /
service recipients / patients in a mechanical manner.
- At organizational level: Reduced effectiveness / poor work performance / declined
productivity, Turnover, increased sick leave / absenteeism, Being over-dependent on
supervisors, Increased accidents.
5. Motivational:
- At individual level: Loss of zeal / loss of idealism, Resignation, Disappointment.
- At interpersonal level: Loss of interest, Indifference with respect to clients / service
recipients / patients
- At organizational level: Loss of work motivation, Resistance to go to work, Low
morale.
VI. The difference between Burn out, and Stress, Depression
Burnout has been often mistaken for stress. Despite the symptoms may be quite
similar, important distinctions should be made. Stress can intensify burnout but is
not the main cause of burnout (Burisch, 2006). Although employees experience
stress because of long works chedules, shift work or general workload, they may
not experience burnout. In addition, stress symptoms may be more physical rather
than emotional. The opposite holds true for burnout. Stress produced urgency and
hyperactivity. Burnout, on the other hand, produced helplessness. Emotions
associated with stress are over-reactive; those associated with burnout are more
blunted.
Burnout has also similar symptoms as specific mood disorders. However, some
differences do exist. Depression, for instance, may extend over every life domain
(e.g., work, family, leisure). Burnout, however, is specific to work context
(Maslach et al., 2001).