Burnout

Burnout is a commonly understood concept, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased sense of accomplishment. It affects a significant number of people, including teachers, professors, and humanitarian aid workers. When we told women we were writing a book called Burnout, nobody ever asked, what's Burnout? Mostly what they said was, is it out yet, can I read it? We all have an intuitive sense of what Burnout is. We know how it feels in our bodies and how our emotions crumble in the grip of it. But when it was first coined as a technical term by Herbert Vordenberger in 1975, Burnout was defined by three components. One, emotional exhaustion. The fatigue that comes from caring too much for too long. Two, depersonalization. The depletion of empathy, caring, and compassion. And three, decreased sense of accomplishment. And a conquering sense of futility, feeling that nothing you do makes any difference. And here's an understatement. Burnout is highly prevalent. 20 to 30% of teachers in America have moderately high to high levels of Burnout. Similar rates are found among university professors and international humanitarian aid workers.