The average American works 46.7 hours a week. Given how much time people spend on the job, it is little wonder that workplace stressors and dissatisfaction can drain well-being. Burnout is not the same as feeling down or having a bad day. It is a chronic state of being out of synch with your job. You may feel continually exhausted. Your passion for a project may fade. You may become cynical and lose confidence in your work.
To determine if you are at risk, take the test below. You will receive a score that rates your own level of satisfaction with six key aspects of your work environment: workload, control, reward, community, fairness and values. A major problem in one or more of these areas can put you on the path to burnout.
This article was originally published with the title "Conquering Burnout" in SA Mind 26, 1, (January 2015)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)
Michael P. Leiter is an organizational psychologist and president of Michael Leiter & Associates, a consulting firm in Nova Scotia.
Christina Maslach is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, and creator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a widely used psychological instrument. She and Leiter co-authored the forthcoming book The Burnout Challenge (Harvard University Press, 2022).
