Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It’s often characterized by feeling depleted, cynical, and ineffective. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes burnout as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed.
One way to understand how burnout develops is through Herbert Freudenberger’s 12 stages of burnout model. This model describes how burnout progresses through 12 distinct phases, starting with an intense desire to prove oneself and eventually leading to complete burnout.
The following sections explain the Freudenberger 12 stages of burnout in detail, as well as ways to recover from each stage.