The Three Types of Burnout and How to Cope With Them - Ness Labs

Exhaustion is the central symptom of burnout. It comprises profound physical, cognitive, and emotional fatigue that undermines people’s ability to work effectively and feel positive about what they’re doing.

Burnout is a cunning thief. It feeds on your passion, your energy, and your enthusiasm, taking these positive qualities and turning them into exhaustion, frustration, and self-doubt. It's way more than just having a bad day, or being tired and worn out. As an article in New York magazine described it, burnout is "a problem that’s both physical and ... See more

Dr. Maslach outlined some of the factors that research has found leads to burnout: * Excessive workloads * Lack of flexibility in schedule * Lack of worker autonomy * Destructive competition among co-workers * Getting shut out of opportunities * Loss of shared common meaning and purpose at work * Workers feeling they are not meaningful change agent... See more

“Burnout” is a particularly modern affliction, feeling simultaneously overwhelmed and paralyzed. I’ve found it’s best to think of burnout not as a disease but as a symptom, with many different etiologies. The big three: permanent on-call, broken steering, and mission doubt.

It's a common misconception that burnouts come from hard work.  Burnout comes from a felt loss of control and/or impact.  Remember that you can burn out employees (or yourself) with little to no work.