If you feel emotionally exhausted, cynical about your work, or like you’re no longer enjoying parts of the job you used to, you may be experiencing burnout.
In this episode of Office Hours, I explain what burnout is, how psychologists define it, and what the research shows about its effects on the brain and body. We discuss the workplace conditions most likely to cause burnout, why some occupations experience it more than others, and the self-reinforcing cycle that makes even meaningful work feel draining.
I also share five things employers can do to protect their employees from burnout and three practical ways individuals can create healthier boundaries between work and life so that each supports, rather than undermines, the other.
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Referenced:
• The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness
• The Pursuit of Happiness with Arthur Brooks
• The Meaning of Your Life Retreats
• Poor mental health costs UK employers £51 billion a year for employees
• Burnout: A Review of Theory and Measurement
• 6 Science-backed Ways To Raise Happiness (and Success) at Work
• Why meetings are terrible for happiness
• Momentary Work Happiness as a Function of Enduring Burnout and Work Engagement
• K-12 Workers Have Highest Burnout Rate in U.S.
• Momentary Work Happiness as a Function of Enduring Burnout and Work Engagement
• 5 Habits for Healthier Phone Use
• 25 Crucial Remote Work Burnout Statistics [2026]: How To Recognize And Avoid Workplace Stress
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