The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs

Two pioneering researchers identify key causes of workplace burnout and reveal what managers can do to promote increased productivity and health. Burnout is among the most significant on-the-job hazards facing workers today. It is also among the most misunderstood. In particular, we tend to characterize burnout as a personal issue—a problem employees should fix themselves by getting therapy, practicing relaxation techniques, or changing jobs. Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter show why this is not the case. Burnout also needs to be managed by the workplace. Citing a wealth of research data and drawing on illustrative anecdotes, The Burnout Challenge shows how organizations can change to promote sustainable productivity. Maslach and Leiter provide useful tools for identifying the signs of employee burnout, most often exhaustion, cynicism, and ineffectiveness. They also advise managers on assembling and interpreting worker self-evaluation surveys, which can reveal workplace problems and potential solutions. And when it comes to implementing change, Maslach and Leiter offer practical, evidence-driven guidance. The key, they argue, is to begin with less-taxing changes that employees nonetheless find meaningful, seeding the ground for more thorough reforms in the future. Experts estimate that more than $500 billion and 550 million workhours are lost annually to on-the-job stress, much of it caused by dysfunctional work environments. As priorities and policies shift across workplaces, The Burnout Challenge provides pragmatic, creative, and cost-effective solutions to improve employee efficiency, health, and happiness.

About the Author :
Christina Maslach is Professor of Psychology, Emerita, at the University of California, Berkeley, and the cocreator of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a widely used metric. In 2020 she received the Scientific Reviewing award from the National Academy of Sciences for her writing on burnout. Michael P. Leiter is an organizational psychologist and consultant. He has been Professor of Organisational Psychology at Deakin University in Australia and was Canada Research Chair in Occupational Health at Acadia University.

Review :
Ultimately, Maslach and Leiter are hopeful. The world seems much more receptive to their research now after the pandemic shredded so many assumptions about the way work happens. Maslach and Leiter’s crucial insight is that characterizing burnout as a personal issue prevents us from finding lasting solutions. A thoughtful and well researched book about a core issue at the heart of the great resignation. If you want to overcome labour shortage issues, this book helps you create a work environment which does not overwhelm people. Sounds simpler than it is. Maslach and Leiter highlight how the way many people are being expected to work is running them into the ground and that the negative feelings come from six key mismatches…The book then goes on to offer ways to measure and address the problem, providing advice on how to create better matches—redesigning work, for example, using actual design principles, such as balance, unity, and rhythm. Provides the path to creating a better world of work where people can flourish rather than get beaten down. The Burnout Challenge will help managers everywhere better understand burnout…This book serves as a wise canary for workers and managers in any organization. The authors use accessible language, many analogies, examples and cases, a compelling narrative style, and helpful bar graphs. This book is well suited to scholars and practitioners interested in change management, burnout, work–life balance, person–job fit, and engagement in the workplace. [Maslach and Leiter] offer a well-grounded examination of the causes of widespread job dissatisfaction and burnout along with proposals for solutions…Thoughtful advice for managers and employers. This book proposes a thoughtful approach to tackling a common and serious workplace problem. With the Great Resignation looming large, this timely, practical guide is worth a look for business leaders aiming to foster a healthy workplace. Provides a balance of breadth and depth to understand the factors leading to burnout, the signs and stages of those who are on the path to burnout, and opportunities for intervening when burnout is looming…brimming with important insights, interesting distinctions, and practical tools. Aspiring and even experienced leaders often don’t know that in order to make sustainable change for both employees and the overall organization, burnout must be a core focus. From experts in burnout research, The Burnout Challenge offers tips and tools needed to evaluate problems and implement solutions. Vital reading for today’s and tomorrow’s leaders. Burnout seems to be everyone’s problem, and this book has solutions. As trailblazers in burnout research, Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter didn’t just clear the path to study the causes—they’ve also discovered some of the cures. A legendary and lasting contribution from two luminaries of burnout research. As we face a growing rampage of workplace stressors, this book offers concrete, actionable solutions for leaders at every level, reminding us that meaningful innovation can only occur at the speed of trust. Maslach and Leiter are the leading scholars on this timely subject, and their research takes today’s necessary discussions about the nature of the workplace to a new level. This outstanding book will make a substantial impact. Managing burnout is one of the most important responsibilities of the twenty-first-century leader. Full of practical tips and tools to do just this, The Burnout Challenge is an essential resource for the leaders of today—and the aspiring leaders of tomorrow.