Psychology › Mental health & disorders › Depression and mood disorders
Burnout
1974; ICD-11 2019· Condition or disorder
Mixed evidenceSome support; effects smaller or less consistent than once thought.
A state of exhaustion, cynicism and reduced effectiveness caused by chronic job stress that has not been managed.
See it on the Psychology map →What it says
Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger coined the term in 1974, describing volunteers at a New York free clinic. Christina Maslach's 1981 Burnout Inventory measured three parts: emotional exhaustion, cynicism toward the work or its clients, and a sense of ineffectiveness. In 2019 the WHO's ICD-11 listed burnout as an 'occupational phenomenon' tied specifically to work, not a medical condition; it is not in the DSM. Research finds the causes lie mostly in the job: workload, control, reward, community, fairness and values.
Why it matters
Burnout is common in caring and high-pressure jobs and drives turnover. It points managers toward fixing workload and control rather than only offering wellness perks.
Think of it like
Like deferred maintenance: each skipped repair seems minor until several building systems start failing at once.
The evidence
Thousands of studies using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, including large surveys of doctors and nurses, plus Maslach and Michael Leiter's work identifying six job areas that predict it.
Open questions
Whether burnout is truly distinct from depression is debated; many burned-out workers also meet depression criteria, and there is no agreed cutoff.
Connections (2)
▸Burnout results from chronic workplace Stress, cortisol and fight-or-flightWell replicated
The connection
Burnout is what prolonged job stress looks like when demands keep exceeding resources such as time, control, support and recognition. Short-term stress mobilizes energy; years of it without recovery drain it, producing exhaustion first, then cynicism and a sense of ineffectiveness.
Who showed it and when
Herbert Freudenberger (1974) and Christina Maslach in California (1970s–80s); the WHO's ICD-11 wording, adopted in 2019, ties burnout explicitly to chronic workplace stress.
The evidence
Surveys of doctors, teachers and other workers consistently show heavy workload and low control predict burnout; reducing workload lowers it in some intervention studies.
Open questions
Whether burnout should be limited to work, as the WHO says, or can also stem from caregiving and other chronic stress, is debated.
▸Burnout overlaps with Depression and mood disordersMixed evidence
The connection
Burnout's exhaustion, loss of motivation and poor concentration closely resemble depression, and the two often occur together. Burnout is tied to work and may lift with time away; depression spreads across all of life. Some researchers think severe burnout is often depression under a less stigmatized name.
Who showed it and when
Debated especially since 2015, when Renzo Bianchi and colleagues reviewed the evidence and argued that burnout and depression largely overlap.
How solid is it?
Studies find high correlations between burnout exhaustion scores and depression scales, and many people with severe burnout meet depression criteria.
Open questions
Whether burnout is a stage of depression, a distinct condition, or a useful label for work-caused distress is unresolved.