BURNOUT FROM A SOCIAL SCIENTIST’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

Background: Sociology is concerned with the rules existing in a society for
 organising itself within a behavioral context, including the interpretative paradigms
 that members of the society use to define their rules. Accordingly, social
 phenomena are both “social facts” that need to be explained as well as components
 of the “world as constituted by meaning” that requires both understanding and
 interpretation. This also applies to burnout, whereby sociology can provide various
 different perspectives.
 Method: This article considers burnout from a sociological perspective.
 Results: Stress theories outline theoretical conditions that contribute to an
 increased likelihood of burnout. Analyses of the individual’s life course and
 interactions enable us to see how biographically, in everyday interactions as well
 as in institutional contexts, individuals under stress can evolve into “people with
 burnout.” These perspectives allow for the social function of talking about burnout
 and the phenomenon itself. In this vein, co-creation and self-organization of work
 processes, conceived initially as emancipatory, are generalized and revert to a
 demand on people in the sense of marketing themselves in everyday life as an
 entrepreneurial project in competition with other citizens. This permanent selforganization
 leads to chronic overload. The result is a social mood that can be
 characterized by the term “exhausted self” and can be understood as an expression
 of the crisis of developed capitalism.
 Discussion: From a sociological perspective, burnout is less a question of individual
 pathology than a challenging social configuration that may contribute toward a
 focus on resource-saving and sustainability; this includes a concrete utopian
 moment, a claim to self-realization in meaningful work, which should be taken up
 socially. This realization is controversial and requires social negotiation.
 Conclusion: Burnout is increasingly becoming an issue addressed by doctors,
 despite recognizing it having been taboo for a long time now. To counteract
 burnout, group work within circles so-called quality, interdisciplinary professional
 teams can strengthen the sense of coherence, support processes of empowerment,
 and professional development.