Burnout is a syndrome that can arise when chronic work-related stress isn’t successfully managed. 

When you face prolonged stress and your resources become so depleted that you can no longer manage that stress, you may feel physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted - this is burnout. Alongside feeling demotivated, other areas of your life may be affected - for example, your personal relationships, sleep, ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle and participate in the hobbies you enjoy. You may feel as if you cannot function and feel helpless of hopeless about your situation. 

Burnout doesn't resolve by itself and things won’t get better by themselves. Left unresolved, burnout can lead to physical and mental health conditions, sickness absence or leaving the job, as well as negative impacts in other areas of your life. 

The symptoms of occupational burnout

Burnout can affect you physically, emotionally and behaviourally. You may feel tired, cynical, helpless. You may doubt your own ability and feel less effective at work.  The World Health Organisation describes burnout as having three elements:

1. Fatigue & exhaustion;
2. Negative feelings or cynicism towards your job; and
3. Decreased professional effectiveness.

Is there a moral component to your burnout?

Burnout is clearly a huge problem that many people face at work. Yet for some people, there may be a moral component to their exhaustion and depletion. If you’re experiencing long-term or significant emotional distress related to injustice or matters of conscience, you may be morally burnt-out. 

Moral burnout describes the long-term moral distress or moral injury caused by either of performing, witnessing or failing to prevent an action that violates your principles. Alongside the symptoms of occupational burnout, moral burnout can manifest as feelings of betrayal, shame & powerlessness. Those experiencing moral burnout have described the experience as similar to being in an abusive relationship, and are likely to look for alternative employment. 

Causes of moral distress, injury & burnout may include:

• Moral or ethical conflicts - participating in activities that violate your morals
• Institutional betrayal - either witnessing or being unable to prevent unfair practices by organisations
• Powerlessness - having insufficient resources, training or staff to prevent unethical situations 
• Moral transgressions by others - witnessing harmful actions by others
• Moral shock - a powerful emotional response to a morally significant event or situation that challenges your view of the world 

The difference between moral distress and moral injury

Moral distress and moral injury differ in terms of their severity and impact. Based on definitions provided by The British Medical Association, they can be described as:

Moral distress: feelings of unease caused by being unable to do the right thing, or where your workplace requires you or others to work in ways that don’t align with your principles. 

Moral injury: profound feelings of guilt, shame, betrayal & anger, impaired functioning and psychological harm caused by sustained moral distress. 

Compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and vicarious trauma

Other terms that describe the emotional toll of caring are compassion fatigue, secondary trauma and vicarious trauma. It's worth understanding these concepts to deepen your understanding of your distress. 

Compassion fatigue: a deterioration in the capacity to care and feel compassion for others. A concept well-understood in helping professions, compassion fatigue was originally described as 'the cost of caring': physical, mental and emotional weariness related to repeatedly caring for those in significant pain or emotional distress. However as the concept has become well-known, it’s often used more generally to describe apathy or depleted empathy arising from exposure to the suffering or trauma of others. Compassion fatigue can manifest as emotional numbness, disconnection and desensitisation to others. 

Vicarious trauma: the negative impact of engaging empathically with trauma survivors. The common signs of vicarious trauma include difficulty in maintaining professional boundaries, over-identification, emotional over-involvement, bystander guilt, anger or shame,  hopelessness, cynicism or numbing.

Secondary trauma: the indirect experience of, or exposure to traumatic events. Secondary trauma is where a trauma that happened to someone else has a traumatic impact on you. The charity PTSDUK describes the signs of secondary trauma as emotional exhaustion, negative self-perception, anxiety & depression, difficulties eating or sleeping and feelings of hopelessness. 

Activist burnout & fatigue

Another burnout factor to consider is activist burnout. This is a concept arising from social justice movements, affecting those who adopt an 'activist mindset' and campaign for justice. Often closely associated with an individual's identity, activist fatigue and burnout are caused by the cumulative effect of activism-related stresses. Much of this work is voluntary or conducted by those from minority groups, and campaigners often put themselves under great pressure to make real change, despite often having low levels of support from others. This can manifest as reduced passion or motivation to campaign, worsening physical and mental health and feelings of reduced personal effectiveness. 

The Neurodivergent ethical advantage & burnout

Neurodivergent people can have heightened empathy and justice-sensitivity, which can serve as an ethical advantage in the workplace. However, these positive traits may also affect their responses to injustice and susceptibility to moral distress. There is growing awareness of autistic and ADHD burnout, which both differ from general burnout in the following ways:

Autistic burnout: Autistic people face a range of stressors, including anxiety, social & sensory issues, misunderstandings & criticism and struggles with masking. Additionally, autistic people can face chronic stress caused by a mismatch between the expectations of others and their abilities/coping mechanisms.  The cumulative effect of these stressors can result in autistic burnout, which manifests as physical, mental & emotional exhaustion, withdrawal, reduced functioning, impaired executive function and reduced ability to mask autistic characteristics. 

ADHD burnout: Coping with ADHD symptoms can be exhausting and lead to ADHD burnout, characterised by mental, emotional or physical overwhelm affecting everyday tasks. Contributory factors include emotional overload, executive dysfunction, unhealthy coping mechanisms and difficulties maintaining work/life balance.