The atmosphere of the workplace has changed dramatically in recent times.

Ever since the exploitative practices of the industrial revolution were removed through legislation, work has been defined as a place where a person could find fulfilment through a job, which was rewarding and paid a fair wage. But this definition has reverted in recent years to one in which the needs of the employee have become less important. Finding personal fulfilment through our work has become more of a challenge. Pr ogressive occupational stress leading to job burnout has become a painful reality for many people. Researchers like Maslach, Freudenberger and others from 1977 onwards gave the name 'burn-out' to the special stressors associated with social and interpersonal pressures. Christina Maslach (1982), describes burnout as 'a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion marked by physical depletion and chronic fatigue, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and by development of a negative self -concept and negative attitudes towards work, life and other people. Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place. This means there is the feeling emptiness, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. Sources of Burnout There sources of burnout are many. In most cases, burnout stems from the job. However, Maslach s definition above brings out other sources of burnout, and hence anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for

burnout

from the hardworking office worker who hasn t had a vacation in

two years to the frazzled stay-at-home mom struggling with the heavy responsibility of taking care of three kids, the housework, and her aging father. Therefore, in this text, sources of burnout have been grouped under three categories namely, work-related, lifestyle, and personality and attitudinal factors. The current work environment is rich in social, psychological and political drivers that cause fatigue and eventually lead to burnout .Many people are working longer hours and taking on more responsibilities just to stay in place. As a result of these changes in the workplace, stress has increased dramatically for some workers. Job stress is the result of overload and pressure on our senses, and our inability to complete tasks. The worker is presented with more demands, information, stimuli, and intensity than he or she can take in and process. The end result of prolonged exposure to this stress is job burnout. We then progressively shut down under the demands placed on us from the outside world. Again lack of recognition or reward for good work is a source of job burnout. Employees often work their hearts out expecting commensurate reward from their toil, which may never be recognised. Having one s work acknowledged is important, but good work often goes unnoticed. Other forms of lack of

recognition include is inadequate pay and underemployment. When you work hard but feel underpaid, you can feel your efforts and outputs are not being adequately recognized.

Other work-related sources of burnout include the feeling that you have little or no control over your work, and doing work that s monotonous or unchallenging. The lifestyle of an individual can also be a source of burnout. This includes working too much, without enough time for relaxing and socializing. Again, being expected to do too many things for too many people can be a source of burnout which emanates from lifestyle . Another critical factor in lifestyle

source of burnout is taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others, and not getting enough sleep. Personality and attitudinal factors may also increase the propensity to burnout. Perfectionist tendencies, for example, are a major source of burnout. To the perfectionists nothing is ever good enough and thus, focuses on eliminating imperfection, no matter how small. Only perfection is acceptable and anything less is criticized as inadequate. Again, having a pessimistic view of yourself and the world is a personality trait which can be a source of burnout. Finally the need to be in control coupled with reluctance to delegate to others can also be a source of burnout.