Burnout as a social pathology of self-realization
This article understands the growing problem of work-related mental fatigue in relation to the normative demand for self-realization that confronts contemporary Western individuals. The empirical basis of the study is in-depth interviews with individuals on long-term sick-leave with various mental f...
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Published in | Distinktion (Aarhus) Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 43 - 60 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Routledge
2012
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | This article understands the growing problem of work-related mental fatigue in relation to the normative demand for self-realization that confronts contemporary Western individuals. The empirical basis of the study is in-depth interviews with individuals on long-term sick-leave with various mental fatigue diagnoses. The analysis of the interviews indicates that a common denominator was the search for being authentic at work by exploring and demonstrating one's capacities and skills to fulfill personal values in a working environment characterized by reorganizations and/or downsizing that the employees had little influence upon. The article shows how the consequences of these changes prevented an enduring authentic self-realization, giving rise to an escalating conflict between a standardized and unconditional self-realization. A discussion is then taken up on how this discrepancy was connected to a growing exhaustion, coupled with increased feelings of emptiness and low self-esteem. Finally, the fatigue symptoms are comprehended as the development of a social pathology in response to experiences of insufficient recognition where the effects of reorganizations and/or cutbacks tend to decrease common meaning. The conclusion is that the expectation of self-realization together with a boundaryless work and work organization may be comprehended as a stress factor for the individual, who is liable to develop fatigue symptoms such as burnout. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1600-910X 2159-9149 |
DOI: | 10.1080/1600910X.2012.648744 |