Burnout classified as occupational phenomenon
The good news is that employee and entrepreneur burnout is preventable. What is burnout? Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) included employee burnout in its 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon.
Burnout is described in the chapter, "Factors influencing health status or contact with health services" and includes reasons why people contact health services but are not classed as illnesses or medical conditions.
WHAT IS BURNOUT DEFINITION BY WHO?
“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
- feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
- increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
- reduced professional efficacy.
Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”
Burnout classification was also included in the previous ICD-10, in the same category as in ICD-11, but now the burn-out syndrome definition is more detailed.
HOW OCCUPATIONAL BURNOUT TAKES PLACE?
What you should know about occupational burnout is that it doesn’t just happen overnight. Employees develop burnout slowly over time and it is more than just work exhaustion.
The main source of burnout is stress. In the case of employee burnout (including leader burnout and professional burnout), it is stress at the workplace or work-related stress. So, preventing burnout needs to start from understanding stress and then dealing with this stress in time, before stress exhaustion takes over and burnout symptoms appear.
As Dr. Helena Lass writes in the Indian InnoHealth Magazine “Regardless of the polarity of stress (positive or negative), biochemically your body reacts in the same way. Whenever our subconscious autopilot system detects a stressor, adrenaline and cortisol are released from our adrenal glands located on top of the kidneys. Our blood pressure rises, our muscles tense, our heart rate elevates, and digestion is inhibited, all preparing us to either fight or take flight. We all have experienced this feeling, like a sudden rush. However, being constantly exposed to prolonged episodes of stress impacts the health of our body and reinforces unhealthy patterns mentally as well as emotionally. It can weaken the immune system, cause more regular mood swings, and can manifest as if being ‘on the ashes’, ultimately resulting in burnout.”
SOLUTIONS TO PREVENT BURNOUT
Dr. Lass presents the solution that enables you and your team to prevent burnout in this short video. Click on the video below and watch it now.
HOW TO TAKE ACTION FOR PREVENTING BURNOUT?
It is important that you don't stop here and take the prevention of burnout to the next level:
- Take a free Stress Test and experience Dr. Lass explaining the stress and burnout topic (25 to 30-minute experience);
- Find out about highly valued e-training that helps to manage stress and prevent burnout (high quality 6 to 8-hour mental health training that changes mindsets and habits and enables you to identify signs and symptoms of burnout, find out more by clicking on the image or link below).
We understand that you lead a busy life, so taking in new information could feel right now a bit overwhelming. However, the benefit of taking a moment to watch the stress video above and finding out more about stress reduction and burnout prevention e-training can save you (and your colleagues) from suffering and being ill.
CONCLUSION
While work burnout isn't a mental illness, it has a 86-92% overlap with depression (you'll find more information about this on our other blog posts). Remember, employees who burn out are usually the brightest minds who care. Burnout means that they may need at least a month but often even half a year for recovery. In many cases, the people who burn out leave the workplace.
However, the good news is burnout is fully preventable. Luckily you ended up here, as here you found a link to affordable stress and burnout prevention e-training that leaves equipped with practical intrapersonal skills that have the power to keep you well.
Don't allow suffering from burnout. Start relieving stress and learn about the early signs of burnout before it turns into psychological exhaustion that ends with having burnout.
It is vital that you take action NOW, before signs of burnout cause long-lasting damage. It is a win-win deal for you and your brightest minds.
This blog post is written by Kaur Lass