We hear a lot about work-related burnout these days, especially as many workers continue to deal with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe it's the blurring of lines between home and work life. Or maybe it's the stress of returning to the workplace after working from home. Or the lingering symptoms of long COVID causing both physical and mental health challenges.
Quentin Durand-Moreau, an assistant professor of occupational medicine at the University of Alberta, has done extensive research on work-related burnout, as well as mental health problems like depression and PTSD. Here's what he has to say about the often hidden workplace hazard, what's behind it and who bears the responsibility for preventing it.
What is burnout?
According to Durand-Moreau, it's a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress, characterized by three dimensions: feelings of depleted energy or exhaustion; increased mental distance from your job, such as feelings of negativity or cynicism; and feelings of reduced personal accomplishment at work.
"Burnout is not a medical diagnosis. I really think it's just a word patients can use to indicate to their physician, their psychologist, their therapist, their health-care provider, that they feel unwell with their mental health because of their work," he says.
"From that starting point, the clinician needs to make a diagnosis — and in most cases, the diagnosis is going to be depression."
In fact, Durand-Moreau says research indicates that burnout and depression overlap. "In other words, most cases of burnout meet the diagnostic criteria for depression."
What causes burnout?
Durand-Moreau says excessive work hours are the number one killer when it comes to occupational health.
He cites research conducted by the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization indicating that working more than 55 hours a week increases the risk of dying from heart attack by 17 per cent and from stroke by 35 per cent. Long work hours can also cause people to increase their alcohol consumption, which comes with its own list of harmful effects on health.
Other factors in burnout include employees not having enough support and not being listened to by employers.
"There's nothing worse than getting surveyed every two weeks with no improvements in the situation. They feel like nothing is changing and their voice doesn't count."
Burnout is not normal, and it can be serious.
Burnout doesn't just come with the territory, in Durand-Moreau's view: "There is no job where it is a normal requirement to have it affect a worker's mental health."
He points out that the mental health effects of burnout can be serious. If a heavy workload is causing a worker to get home late and miss family obligations day after day, week after week, it can lead to family problems and even divorce. He adds that it's important for health-care providers to assess patients who are experiencing burnout for suicidal ideas.
