THEburnout is best known under the English name burnout. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is characterized by “a feeling of fatigue intense, loss of control and inability to achieve concrete results at work ”¹.

It was in 1969 that the term burnout was used for the first time. It has been the subject of many definitions since.

In the 1970s, the expression was reserved for employees in the helping relationship field who were very emotionally engaged in their work, such as nurses, doctors, social workers and teachers. Now we know that all workers – from the worker to the entrepreneur – can be exposed to burnout.

The magnitude of the problem

Since the early 1990s, the frequency of problems with psychological health at work alarmingly increasing. They include burnout, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, etc. According to the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, which brings together most of the country’s private insurers, psychological health issues now account for about 40% of disability benefits¹⁶ (up to 60% in certain employment sectors), against 18% in 1990⁴. Nowadays, they constitute the leading cause of prolonged absence work, commonly referred to as “long-term disability”¹.

No precise statistics are available on theburnout. All the same, the most recent Statistics Canada survey reveals that just over a quarter of Quebec workers say they are experiencing a high degree of stress on an regular basis³. In some workplaces, studies have shown that this rate can climb to 1 in 2 workers¹⁷.

In Europe, the situation is just as worrying: 1 in 2 cases ofabsenteeism is caused by the chronic stress, according to a report from the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work published in 2009⁶. This is without counting the effects of presenteeism : be present at work, but absent of mind, due to a physical or psychological health problem. In Quebec, about half of the costs of stress for businesses are attributable to presenteeism, and the other half to absenteeism.¹⁸.

Causes

From a biological perspective, experts still fail to fully explain what leads to burnout. All workers who cross a period of exhaustion are in a situation chronic stress. It is therefore an important factor of vulnerability. The vast majority have a high workload, to which are added one or other of the following voltage sources.

• Lack of autonomy : participate in no or few decisions related to his task.
• Imbalance between efforts and recognition obtained from the employer or immediate superior (salary, esteem, respect, etc.).
• Low social support : with the superior or between colleagues.
• Insufficient communication : from management to employees, concerning the vision and organization of the company.

In addition to these factors, individual peculiarities come into play. For example, it is not clear why some people experience more stress than others. In addition, some attitudes (too much importance given to work, perfectionism) are more frequent in individuals who live onburnout. According to research, it appears that the weak self esteem is a determining factor. In addition, certain life contexts, such as heavy family responsibilities or the solitude, can jeopardize work-life balance.

Regardless of the sources of stress at work, there is a imbalance between pressure suffered and the resources (interior and exterior, perceived or real) available to deal with it.

With the increasing frequency of mental health problems among workers, most experts argue that the Responsibility Law stress at work is not just individual: it is shared between workers and employers. More and more studies of interventions in companies show that by acting on work organization, all benefit¹⁷.

To learn more about the sources of work stress, see our dossier Overcoming stress at work: finally solutions.

Possible consequences

A period ofburnout can, beyond work, have repercussions in all spheres of life. In such a case, the victim may slide into depression.

Some people may experience anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse problems or, in extreme cases, thoughts of suicide. Some workers even exhaust themselves to the point of losing their lives. The Japanese term karoshi refers to sudden death from nervous exhaustion at work, caused by a heart attack. The phenomenon was first observed in Japan in the late 1960s.

Le chronic stress would also cause several physiological disturbances (see box below). We know, for example, that obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes are more common in people with high psychological pressure.

Moreover, research is underway to discover biological markers that could identify people who experience chronic stress. This could be done before health problems appear. About fifteen markers are under the scrutiny of researchers, including blood levels of cortisol, of insulin, C reactive protein, cholesterol and triglycerides, as well as blood pressure and the ratio waist / hip measurement. These markers are often measured in isolation. However, it seems that under the effect of chronic stress, a fine deregulation of several hormonal systems would occur at the same time. Thus, the markers would remain within normal limits, but near minimum or maximum values.

Diagnostic

THEburnout falls into the category of adjustment disorders. It is not recognized as a mental illness, and therefore does not appear in the DSM IV, the medical manual of mental disorders

The diagnosis is therefore difficult to establish, because the doctors do not have precise criteria. Thus, distinguishing burnout from depression is not easy. At the moment, physicians rely on the interview they have with the patient and the symptoms that the latter experiences. In case of doubt, consultation with a psychiatrist is sometimes suggested.