ST. LOUIS (KMOX) — Ever felt like your job has left exhausted or downright depleted? Ever felt bad about your job to the point where you're not efficiently working?
Well, the World Health Organization has now classified those feelings and declared them as a disease simply called "burnout." The WHO calls burnout "chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed" with three symptoms: exhaustion, mental distance and inability to work efficiently all caused by work.
Nearly two-thirds of full time employees experience burnout at some point in their careers, according to a 2018 survey by Gallup.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the term "burnout" was coined in the 1970s by American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. He used it to describe the consequences of stress related to "helping" professions such as doctors and nurses, however, today the term is used widely among all career fields. "It seems it can affect anyone, from stressed-out careerists and celebrities to overworked employees and homemakers," the NIH reports.
Although burnout is now a classified medical condition, WHO did not detail what an appropriate treatment might look like for someone with occupational burnout.
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