A Review and an Integration of Research on Job Burnout

Abstract

Burnout is a unique type of stress syndrome, characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and diminished personal accomplishment. Although burnout has been shown to be potentially very costly in the helping professions, such as nursing, education, and social work, little work has been done thus far to establish its generalizability to industry. This article reviews the literature on burnout and provides a conceptual framework designed to improve the understanding of burnout. Propositions are presented that are aimed at clarifying the dynamics of burnout, including determinants of and interrelationships among the three burnout components.