I did some volunteer mentoring for a while. Burnout was the most common complaint. However, once you dug into each complaint of burnout you discovered that “burnout” has become a catch-all term for a very wide range of feelings.
Before that experience I assumed everyone defined burnout as a severe state of deep distress and lack of energy following extended periods of intense stress, frustration, overwork, and/or lack of control.
Instead, a lot of people used “burnout” more casually, as a catch-all term for any frustrations with their job any or intermittent tiredness. A lot of people would say they were suffering from burnout one week, then everything would be fine again the next Monday after they did something fun over the weekend. To them, burnout could be as simple as being a little tired one week or having to work full 8-hour days for a couple days in a row.
The number of people for whom “burnout” meant a deep and serious affliction that required possibly months to recover from was a lot smaller.
It’s similar to the way people casually talk about their “OCD” because they like to be organized, their “ADHD” when they have nothing resembling clinical ADHD, or their “PTSD” after a mildly unpleasant experience. These terms have become so diluted that they can mean almost anything when you ask people to self-report.
Sure enough, this survey was self-reported. BCG wants to sell you services related to burnout, so maximizing the number of people reporting “burnout” is in their best interests. A self-report survey of unknown cohorts is the perfect way to maximize that number for their headline.
At one point in my career, I've been a CTO of a startup company. I worked 12-14 hours a day, including weekends. My relationship with the CEO was bad, and he actively added "senior tech leads" to the company to compete with me.
One day, I arrived to the office, and stood in the hallway across our office door.
I froze. I couldn't physically move. I stood there, unable to move, for 2.5 hours until someone passed by and saw me.
I'm sharing this story so that readers may have an idea of what severe burnout may look like. It's not that I didn't want to move - I couldn't, my brain didn't let me. I lost my ability to control my body at that point.
I don't think that'd still classify as burnout, honestly.
That's more like a stress response from getting into the range of an abuser. I'm sure it was extremely traumatic for you, I just don't think anyone could classify such a response as burnout
Best take here. I like the BCG selling related services call out. Always question the motives of the author. There is a clear conflict of interest, which ties into the survey results. The validity of the survey and methodology should also be scrutinized.
Self-diagnosing is just part of the current fad of credentialism in discussing the psyche. Nobody can exhibit a pile of adjectives. They need to be attached to a proper noun from a book to be acknowledged. If there isn't a proper noun attached, the individual's external nonconformity or internal dissatisfaction are just a personal failing for not having fixed themselves already.
And ironically it makes society worse at supporting everyone, even those for whom the proper noun is appropriate.
Before that experience I assumed everyone defined burnout as a severe state of deep distress and lack of energy following extended periods of intense stress, frustration, overwork, and/or lack of control.
Instead, a lot of people used “burnout” more casually, as a catch-all term for any frustrations with their job any or intermittent tiredness. A lot of people would say they were suffering from burnout one week, then everything would be fine again the next Monday after they did something fun over the weekend. To them, burnout could be as simple as being a little tired one week or having to work full 8-hour days for a couple days in a row.
The number of people for whom “burnout” meant a deep and serious affliction that required possibly months to recover from was a lot smaller.
It’s similar to the way people casually talk about their “OCD” because they like to be organized, their “ADHD” when they have nothing resembling clinical ADHD, or their “PTSD” after a mildly unpleasant experience. These terms have become so diluted that they can mean almost anything when you ask people to self-report.
Sure enough, this survey was self-reported. BCG wants to sell you services related to burnout, so maximizing the number of people reporting “burnout” is in their best interests. A self-report survey of unknown cohorts is the perfect way to maximize that number for their headline.