Job Burnout
Just as there are many effects of job stress, there are also many different ways people experience that stress. Some people suffering from work-related stress experience a more acute type of stress called burnout. Burnout is the result of suffering a demanding, persistent pattern of occupational stress involving exhaustion and feelings of meaninglessness and cynicism. In the research literature, burnout is defined as “a psychological syndrome of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy, which is experienced in response to chronic job stressors” (18). Burnout is different from the experience of a reaction to intense stress as it is “a cumulative reaction to ongoing occupational stressors” (18) rather than a response to specific incidents.
Research on job burnout found that burnout affects people in different ways and that symptoms are not consistent and can be many and varied. In a review of a collection of clinical observations and interview studies, 132 symptoms were documented (19).
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