The language around burnout

The U.S. Department of Human and Health Services recognizes burnout as a workplace condition. So, why, then, do we call it burnout? Why not call it something like “Exploitation Exhaustion?” The language around this is important. In Europe, paternity leave or medical care is recognized as a fundamental human right. It is expected. Unlike in the U.S., those things are viewed as a benefit or a privilege. The cultural approach to fixing burnout is embedded into our industrial mindset, framing it as an individual’s problem. So, they tell us to take 15 minutes out of our day to be mindful or go on a walk and meditate. We try to carve out time for “self-care” to cope with the system we have set up. When people inevitably fail, it’s the individual’s fault for not hacking it, not the environment that has been created. Corporatism then pushes us to go to therapy. While therapy can be helpful, it isn’t the panacea to this culture we have built. It all pushes us to cope, not to be free. Plus, not everyone can afford therapy, and wait times are long. The wellness or self-care industry has increased its market value to approximately $1.5 trillion worldwide. That says a lot about the world we have built. What needs to be addressed is what no one is talking about. The collective problem of burnout—the decisions that policymakers, lawmakers, and corporations have made for over a century that led us here.