The Must-Read Book on Burnout

The Burnout Epidemic: The Rise of Chronic Stress And How We Can Fix It.

In her compelling new book, Moss argues our current strategies are getting it all wrong – that self-care won’t cure burnout and organizations need to entirely rethink their approach to wellness. Leveraging her latest research and evidence-based solutions, this book will help leaders and individuals prevent burnout for healthier, happier, and more productive workplaces.

We tend to think of burnout as a problem we can solve with self-care: more yoga, better breathing techniques, and more resilience. But evidence is mounting that applying personal, Band-Aid solutions to an epic and rapidly evolving workplace phenomenon isn't enough—in fact, it's not even close. If we're going to solve this problem, organizations must take the lead in developing an anti-burnout strategy that moves beyond apps, wellness programs, and perks.

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Jennifer Moss earned the prestigious Thinkers 50 “Radar” designation “Spotlighting Thinkers With The Ideas Most Likely To Shape The Future.” And her latest book, The Burnout Epidemic, was included on the Best New Management Booklist in 2022 by Thinkers 50.

“A Timely and Powerful Guide to an Urgent and Growing Phenomenon”

In this eye-opening, paradigm-shifting, and practical guide, Jennifer Moss lays bare the real causes of burnout and how organizations can stop the chronic stress cycle that an alarming number of workers suffer through. The Burnout Epidemic explains:

  • What causes burnout—and what organizations can do to prevent it

  • Why traditional wellness initiatives fall short

  • How companies can build an anti-burnout strategy based on prevention, not perks

  • How leaders can measure burnout in their own organizations

  • What leaders can do to develop a healthier culture that's high on resilience and curiosity

    As the pandemic has shown, self-care is important, but it's not a cure-all for burnout. Employers need to do more. With fascinating research, new findings from the pandemic, and interviews with business leaders around the globe, The Burnout Epidemic offers readers insightful and actionable advice that will empower them to help themselves—and their employees—feel healthier and happier at work.

Learn More About Burnout In Jennifer’s HBR.org Articles

  • “It's a worthwhile read for anyone tasked with managing people today — or anyone with a vested interest in seeing their colleagues thrive.”

    Business Insider

  • “Business leaders owe it to themselves to check out this timely and practical plea for more balance.”

    Publishers Weekly

  • “Those who care about the wellness of others have a staunch ally in Jennifer Moss. She approaches the critical issue of burnout with curiosity and passion, synthesizing evidence from numerous studies. Read it for yourself; read it for those you love; read it for those you lead.”

    Dr. Edward Ellison, M.D., former Co-CEO of the Permanente Federation

  • “Jennifer Moss hits a home run with this provocative and engaging analysis on the misunderstood topic of burnout. If you want to address this massive issue facing the future of work – read her book."

    Dan Schawbel, NYTimes Bestselling Author of Back to Human

  • “In these unprecedented times, there is no topic more important for leaders today than how to empathize and care for the well-being of others. Jennifer’s work is a must-read for leaders committed to putting their people first.”

    Jay Anders, VP Leadership & People Development, Molson Coors Beverage Company

  • "Given the challenges this world is experiencing and the once-in-a-generation opportunity for leaders to create a positive trajectory moving forward, this book matters now more than ever."

    Shawn Achor, NYTimes Bestselling Author of Big Potential

  • “Burnout is today’s burning issue and Jennifer has written a playbook to help us all understand how to address this critical topic. If you care about the people in your organization and setting them up to succeed, this book is a must read.”

    Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Officer and VP, Culture and Learning, GE

  • "This powerful and practical book could not be more timely. As the burnout epidemic is spreading throughout the world, Jennifer Moss offers a much-needed vaccine. With positive side-effects guaranteed!"

    Tal Ben-Shahar, International best-selling author and founder of The Happiness Studies Academy

For Leaders: Six Important Questions and Answers About Burnout

What causes burnout? Where does it start, and who can change it?

Historically, burnout has been considered the outcome of weaknesses on the part of the individual. The World Health Organization disagrees and has declared it an outcome of an unhealthy workplace culture and conditions.

Shouldn’t our wellness initiatives be protecting employees from burnout?

Wellness Initiatives provide resources that employees may benefit from. Still, they require the employee to be healthy enough to use them and to invest more time and energy to gain the benefits. Self-care isn’t the answer.

Will Training be enough to make a difference for leaders and our teams?

Training leaders will be critically important. However, we must also make employee health a strategic objective. Making burnout reduction strategic tells leaders and staff that this is important and should be prioritized in our daily and weekly efforts.

How can leaders know whether burnout is a problem in their teams?

Start by measuring an entire organization. Once you understand the causes, correlations, and symptoms, strategies can be deployed to identify predictive and trailing markers of burnout.

How can I create a more resilient workplace culture in my organization?

Resilience can be developed over time. It must be planned carefully and baked into every aspect of design and management. Hiring, training, performance management, and policy design require adjustments.

What role did the pandemic play in magnifying employee burnout?

The Pandemic was like pouring gas on an already lit fire, but it elevated the conversation and increased organizational awareness of the issues. Burnout and Well-being are strategic imperatives in the post-COVID-19 world of work.

The Six Root Causes of Burnout

Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Three dimensions characterize burnout:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;

  • Increased mental distance from one's job, feelings of cynicism related to one's job, and

  • Reduced professional efficacy.

The six root causes of burnout are:

  • When employees are overworked, there is a snowball effect wherein poor performance resulting from a high workload causes additional stress for employees, further intensifying their burnout. Employees who report always having too much to do are more than twice as likely as others to experience work-related burnout. This can lead to chronic stress and is highly detrimental to mental health.

  • Micromanagement often leads to burnout. Employees will likely feel unfulfilled and burnt out when a role lacks autonomy, novelty, variety, and structured flow. A Swedish study cited in The Burnout Epidemic found that employees with more influence and control over their work reported less depression, fewer absences, and fewer symptoms of almost all negative health indicators.

  • Community fosters a sense of belonging. Considering how much time we spend at work, feeling comfortable and supported in that environment is important. Practicing gratitude and sharing appreciation for one another, for example, in thank-you meetings, are ways to build a positive company culture and strong community, resulting in enhanced performance and reduced burnout.

  • Employees require incentives to perform at their best. Many roles require employees to go above and beyond, stretching themselves thin at the cost of their mental and physical health. Some fields, such as healthcare or policing, have demanding hours and allow little time for rest. In these types of roles, employee appreciation and adequate compensation are especially crucial to sustain employees’ wellbeing.

  • A lack of fairness, or organizational justice, is generally a structural issue. Bias, favouritism, unfair policies, unfair compensation, and poor treatment by managers and/or coworkers all hinder the employee experience and foster a culture of unfairness. Having effective complaint mechanisms in place, promptly responding to all employee inquiries and a corporate strategy around fairness are conducive to a healthy work environment where employees are less likely to burn out.

  • Before the 2008 recession, one in five people were overqualified for their role. That figure has since increased to one in four. This is significant because overqualified employees report higher rates of depression, anxiety, and burnout than their appropriately qualified counterparts. Over-qualification and a resultant negative job attitude are bad for morale and performance and often result in burnout. Organizations should hire the right fits for their openings, meaning that the employee’s and company’s goals and expectations are aligned.