The five personas of burnout

Burnout, the antithesis of engagement, describes the common experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest in one’s work. Burnout has some very serious consequences for both individuals’ health¹ (e.g., heart disease) and organizations² (e.g., deviant behaviors). Despite its prevalence and effects, burnout is rarely discussed—perhaps because it has become all too commonplace within modern organizations.

Nonetheless, because burnout is experienced in a variety of ways, Fistful of Talent reviewed its five personas using celebrity comparisons. One of which comes from the hit NBC series The Office:

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The Stanley: Office mope who is too scared to leave and too scared to stay

“Stanleys” hate their job with a passion and are just getting by.  Shoulders rolled forward, slow movements, and a truckload of resentment.  He’s nitpicking everything including the corporate cafeteria and how his laptop is too heavy.  He’s never planning to leave but fantasizes about it all the time. He’d probably embrace saying he’s burned out but he’s so caught in complaining about the details of his job that he misses the big picture of how he’s contributing to it.

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While this is a satirical take on burnout, it is a very serious syndrome. Fortunately, there are ways to stop stress from developing into burnout by following four practical guidelines for its relief, as discussed by CMA’s Henry Hummert, Ph.D.

To read about the other personas, including: The Kim Kardashian, The Robert Downey, Jr., The Paula Abdul, and The Bruce Springsteen, please see the full article at Fistful of Talent.

¹ Kahill, S. (1988). Symptoms of professional burnout: A review of the empirical evidence. Canadian Psychology, 29, 284-297.

² Bolton, L.R., Harvey, R.D., Grawitch, M.J. and Barber, L.K. (2011). Counterproductive Work Behaviours in Response to Emotional Exhaustion: A Moderated Mediational Approach. Stress and Health. doi: 10.1002/smi.1425