Is burnout more than just a work-related phenomenon?

You wake up one day and realize you’ve lost your spark. Everything suddenly feels like a chore. You experience headaches, nausea, and dizziness without it being related to a physical condition. You literally drag yourself through the day, and that itself feels overwhelming. Anyone who’s experienced it knows exactly what burnout feels like (and also how difficult it can be to know how exactly they got there). For a long time, it’s been reported that burnout is mainly related to workplace stress and a poor work-life balance.

But recent studies challenge this assumption. It turns out, burnout has more to do with depressive stress in your personal life (that’s not to say that you should ignore a toxic work environment, of course).

The many faces of burnout

Renzo Bianchi, psychologist and associate professor at NTNU, conducted a study in which just a few of the participants mentioned work as the cause of their burnout (more than 70% said it was related to something else entirely). This isn’t the only study to show such results; in 2020, a large analysis showed a much weaker connection between burnout and work than was previously thought, and a study from Switzerland concluded the same. According to Bianchi, the link between work and burnout was poorly grounded in research even in the 1970s, when it was first coined by Herbert Freudenberger, but that perception was accepted as truth for years. Instead, it turns out that people who experience depressive stress in their lives are more likely to develop burnout.

Some people can experience stressful family issues that involve their partner or children. Other people deal with sleep problems or have physical illnesses. It’s different for everyone, really, not to mention that we don’t respond to stress in the same way. For example, those who have a more anxious personality can feel drained really quickly because of worries and stress (and it doesn’t have to do with their jobs). The good news is that there are ways to recover from burnout, no matter in which of these scenarios you find yourself. What many people get wrong when trying to recover is that they ask themselves how to get more done when what they should really be asking is what their nervous system can realistically hold. No one has unlimited energy, and what makes all the difference is planning your days based on your actual capacity, and not on ideal input. After all, it’s important to remember that we’re all just human.

Gen Z and millennials are experiencing peak burnout at earlier ages

Research from the past year has shown that in America, a quarter of the population is burnt out before they’re 30, and the UK is no different. Lots of young adults aged 18-24 took time off due to burnout-related stress. Gen Z, in particular, is vulnerable to burnout due to a couple of different reasons. Many people from this generation entered the workforce during (and after) the pandemic, and we can all remember that it was a time of profound upheaval, shifting work demands and protocols, and social isolation.

These tough conditions disrupted the informal learning that occurs through daily interactions. The economic pressures have been growing, too. Young people are navigating a precarious landscape, and today, we’ve all come to understand that university education doesn’t equal a well-paying job. Not anymore. There’s also widening inequality and the rising costs of housing, which have also been putting greater financial pressures on Gen Z. The good news, though, is that Gen Z and millennials are also more open to seeking help for burnout than previous generations. They’re also more aware of the signs, which means they can identify it early and take steps to address it.

Burnout is a systemic issue

Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room. Burnout is very often framed as a personal failure. It happens because you have a time-managed problem. Or you’re not grateful enough for what you have. Or you lack emotional regulation skills. You name it. But that’s not true at all. People aren’t burning out because they’re weak. The reality is that they’re doing too much in systems that are designed to reward overextension. Systems influence burnout, from workplaces and caregiving demands to economic pressure, and cultural expectations, and let’s be honest, everyone is just doing their best. But of course, even if there are systemic contributors, this doesn’t take our agency away. We don’t need to wait until the systems change to address burnout early. What burnout is asking for is more realistic expectations, support instead of self-criticism, fewer unnecessary urgencies, and clearer boundaries, to name a few.

The solutions can look different for everyone:

An employee who juggles different responsibilities can set firm boundaries (like avoiding work emails after work is over)
A stay-at-home father who has to manage three young children may require support, regardless of what this looks like (e.g.: outside childcare help or community resources)
A chronically ill patient who undergoes different treatments may need a period of temporary respite (even if it’s just for a few days or hours)
A middle-aged woman who’s married and relocated may simply benefit from a listening ear while she’s navigating major life transitions.

The bottom line

Ultimately, it’s important to remember that burnout results from more than just working too hard. This sneaky beast creeps up on you slowly and makes you feel undervalued, disconnected, and lost. It’s an epidemic today, and it seeps into our relationships, personal lives, and health. And because it’s unique (and systemic), one-size-fits-all solutions aren’t helpful.

Ending the culture of burnout requires collective effort (healthcare professionals, advocates, individuals, and employers all need to be involved). But above all else, it’s about listening to those who experience burnout and truly understand what works for them, and how they can best be supported. We need to reject this idea that burnout is the price of success. You don’t rest WHEN you feel exhausted. From a psychological perspective, rest is a requirement for regulation. It’s not laziness, it’s maintenance.