Burnout Is Back in a Big Way — Here’s Why
Workplace wellbeing needs a reboot to cope with the ever-present toxic workplace and long Covid
Photographer: Zero Creatives/Cultura/Getty Images
It’s the fiftieth anniversary of “burnout” entering the corporate lexicon when Herbert Freudenberger, a New York psychologist, first identified it. I wish I could tell you that we’ve banished it, but instead burnout is back with a vengeance. Recent data from Deloitte and the research firm Workplace Intelligence cites about half of workers saying they are either exhausted or stressed and 60% of employees say they would consider changing jobs to find better wellbeing provisions.
The working assumption that current corporate wellness programs are sufficient for the times is being severely tested. Here’s why.