Burnout
If work has left you depleted or increasingly distant from what you do, you may want words for it—and support that addresses the pressures around you. Learn what occupational burnout means and where a fuller conversation can begin.
Occupational burnout concerns your relationship with work.
WHO describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon related to chronic workplace stress, not a medical condition. Its dimensions concern exhaustion, distance or cynicism toward work, and reduced professional efficacy.
People also use the word burnout for other exhaustion. That broader everyday usage is not the same as the occupational definition. A conversation can explore health and life circumstances without forcing either label.
Based on WHO · NHS · Every Mind Matters
Your working context belongs in the picture.
- Exhaustion
How work affects your energy
- Distance from work
How your relationship with work feels
- Efficacy
How you experience accomplishing work
- Conditions & support
Demands, priorities and possible help
The recognized definition has a work context.
WHO describes burnout in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon associated with chronic workplace stress. It is not classified there as a medical condition.
People also use “burnout” informally for other kinds of exhaustion. Your difficulty deserves support either way; the work-context definition does not explain every cause of tiredness or distress.
Based on WHO
What has changed in your working day?
Possible experiences to discuss; these do not distinguish burnout from depression or another explanation.
Energy
Work leaves you feeling drained.
Relationship with work
You feel more distant or negative toward your job.
Tasks & priorities
Tasks feel harder to manage or accomplish.
Beyond the working day
Work pressure is affecting rest, motivation or relationships.
Based on WHO · NHS · Every Mind Matters
Consider the conditions around the work.
Workload, control, relationships and support can matter. This map concerns conditions to discuss, rather than stages of burnout or a judgment of your resilience.
Demands
What is expected, and is it manageable within the available time?
Control
Where can you influence the work or ask for flexibility?
Support
Who can respond to a workload or access concern?
Wider health
What also needs attention beyond the workplace?
Bring the work context into the conversation.
Explain what work asks of you, how things have changed and what happens outside work too. A professional can consider other explanations for exhaustion or low mood.
CBI describes personal, work-related and client-related exhaustion separately. Client questions do not apply to every worker. MBI-GS has its own occupational dimensions and licensed format; the two measures are not interchangeable.
Based on NHS · Every Mind Matters · National Research Centre for the Working Environment · Mind Garden
- 1What has work been like?
Demands, changes and support available to you.
- 2What happens beyond work?
Rest, mood and the parts of life affected.
- 3What would you like discussed?
A practical change or a health concern.
A work explanation may be only part of the picture.
Persistent low mood, sleep difficulties or physical changes can need a broader health assessment. Burnout and other concerns should not be treated as mutually exclusive labels chosen by an online test.
Tell the professional what happens away from work as well as during it.
A work conversation can be specific.
Use one of these prompts if it fits your circumstances.
Which demand needs attention?
Choose a concrete responsibility, expectation or source of uncertainty.
What is the impact?
Describe how it affects your day without needing to prove exhaustion.
What could be discussed?
A clearer priority, support with a task or time to consider options.
Based on NHS · Every Mind Matters
Look at work conditions as well as your wellbeing.
You can choose what feels useful, with room for your circumstances and preferences.
Based on NHS · Every Mind Matters
Ask about changes to the work, as well as support for you.
A fictional discussion might focus on clarifying competing priorities, adjusting a task or reviewing hours. Which options are possible depends on the job, service and local arrangements.
Occupational health, a worker representative or an appropriate manager may be possible routes. Ask how information will be handled before sharing health details.
Fictional examples to explain an experience. They are not a checklist or a diagnosis.
Review whether the support is changing the difficulty.
Agree what will be reconsidered and who to contact if the situation continues. There is no universal recovery deadline or requirement to return with greater productivity.
Health support and workplace changes may both be relevant. If difficulties extend beyond work, seek care for that wider experience too.
- Low mood and depression
Understand a separate concern that may need its own assessment.
- Sleep information
Explore sleep difficulties without assuming their cause.
A little clarity. A place to start.
Explore a tool, prepare a conversation or find someone to talk to. Choose what feels useful to you.
Prepare for a conversation
A few prompts to help you explain what you have noticed and what you would like help with.
- A simple notes builder
- Copy your notes to keep
- No account needed
You decide how much to write and share.
Find your wordsFind your next kind of support
Explore where to begin with everyday support, professional help or an urgent conversation.
- Ways to ask for help
- Country-specific crisis contacts
- Support at your own pace
If you need urgent help, go straight to support.
Find supportYour first sentence does not need to be perfect.
You might want clearer priorities, a workload discussion or help explaining the effect on your health. Decide who feels appropriate to approach; you do not need to share a questionnaire score with an employer.
Based on NHS · Every Mind Matters
“Work has been leaving me exhausted and it's affecting my life. Could we discuss the demands, what might change and whether I need further health support?”Make it sound like you
Your questions, with room for nuance.
You can read just the answer you need.
Does being exhausted prove burnout?
No. Exhaustion has several possible explanations. The recognized WHO burnout description is specifically occupational.
Based on WHO
Is this only about my coping skills?
No. Working conditions and organizational changes matter alongside individual support.
Based on WHO
Can a burnout score decide whether I am fit to work?
No. A questionnaire cannot make an individual occupational-health decision on its own.
Where this information comes from.
Use this hub to learn and prepare questions. It does not diagnose you or recommend a personal treatment plan. By Selfmora editorial; sources checked . Updated .
Additional explanations and examples: sources consulted . Examples illustrate ideas; they do not assess your personal health. Your questions
- Burn-out: an occupational phenomenon
- Work-related stress
- Copenhagen Burnout Inventory
- MBI General Survey: use and licensing
- Mental health at work