Job burnout: causes, effects, and management strategies

Job burnout has been defined as "a psychological syndrome in response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job. The three key dimensions of this response are an overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from the job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment." (Maslach, 2001)

Maslach describes exhaustion as stemming from the chronic stress of feeling burned out. The employee feels overextended, and lacks the emotional strength to overcome the hurdles he or she faces. It involves negative feelings of incompetence and lack of productivity.

Musick (1997) looked specifically at the medical profession, noting trends that have been seen in other fields as well. Management, in an effort to increase productivity, sometimes increases demands and arbitrarily changes job descriptions in ways that stress the employees. Musick reports one interviewee as saying, "People can do more for brief periods of time," but noted that sometimes people feel the bar is constantly being raised with no end in sight.

In a world where up to 90% of people dislike or hate their jobs, burnout is always a possibility. It should be a matter of serious concern for management, because job burnout results in lowered productivity.

Of course, no one is happy with his or her job 100% of the time, so when is the person feeling transitory job frustration, and when is it burnout? Wellsley (2000) calls it burnout when the person is unhappy with his job most of the time. Maslach, (2001) would include the standard that the feelings were interfering with the person's ability to work well as the person's feelings of job adequacy.

Wellsley (2000) described how the development of job burnout affects an employee. They find that their job is not as enjoyable as it used to be; that they watch the clock because time moves slowly while at work; that they have difficulty concentrating; that they blame themselves and can become markedly withdrawn, comparing themselves to co-workers negatively; and get to the point where they hate to go to work each day.

Maslach (1999) listed specific problems that can lead to job burnout, along with possible solutions. She cited a doctor's whose workload had grown to an unmanageable level. He went to the health center's management and laid the problem out, and worked with management to find an effective solution.