Faculty Burnout

Your Source for Prevention and Personal Growth

The word "burnout" is a term often overused and quickly dismissed.  It is often even used in jest when referring to the result of "binge-watching" a show offered on a streaming app.  

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My research strives to provide a more objective and clinical approach to defining and coping with authentic burnout, "a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place ("Burnout Prevention and Treatment.") Often, the term are associated with the medical professional, but in more recent years, the recognition of mental fatigue is being linked to a variety of helping professions - including teaching, social work, and chaplaincy.

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The unfortunate aspect of burnout is that employers often lose more than they care to recognize.  As employees become more despondent, productivity, enthusiasm, and engagement slump.  Thus, burnout takes a physical and mental toll on an individual and places an institution in decline. In the end, the students suffer due to having "less than their best" faculty members struggle through classes.