The Burnout Challenge

September 12, 2022
A majority of American workers consider their jobs to be mediocre or bad, constituting a crisis in the workplace, according to this no-nonsense survey from Banishing Burnout coauthors Maslach, a UC Berkeley psychology professor, and Leiter, an organizational psychologist. They make a case that such bad feelings toward one’s work manifest as burnout, a miserable trifecta comprising crushing exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and alienation, and a sense of ineffectiveness. Burnout, they write, is the result of “the increasing mismatch between workers and workplaces,” and is not an individual problem but one that comes down to the relationship between an individual and their place of work. Solutions, therefore, must be systemic and structural. The authors break down how burnout affects workplace relationships (it can lead to workers “causing greater personal conflict and disrupting job tasks”) and lay out how organizations can ensure an ideal job-person match, which they posit involves six conditions: a sustainable workload; ample choice and control; recognition and rewards; supportive work community; norms of fairness, respect, and social justice; and well-aligned values and meaningful work. With the Great Resignation looming large, this timely, practical guide is worth a look for business leaders aiming to foster a healthy workplace.