{"title":"Casting a Wider Net: On the Utilitarian Nature of Burnout Assessment in the Workplace.","authors":"Leon T De Beer, Wilmar B Schaufeli","doi":"10.1177/01632787241259032","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Some consider the burnout label to be controversial, even calling for the abandonment of the term in its entirety. In this communication, we argue for the pragmatic utility of the burnout paradigm from a utilitarian perspective, which advocates the greatest good for the most significant number of employees in organisations. We first distinguish between mild work-related burnout complaints and more severe burnout that can be identified in some contexts. We address the classification of burnout as an 'occupational phenomenon' by the World Health Organization and its ambiguous status in the ICD-11, highlighting the challenge of universally diagnosing burnout as a condition. We argue that a purely clinical approach might be too reactive as it normally only identifies employees with a diagnosable condition. We posit that early detection of burnout through valid assessment can identify struggling employees who do not yet have a diagnosable condition. This proactive approach can help prevent escalation into mental health crises and is more sensible for organisations in terms of effectiveness and employee retention.</p>","PeriodicalId":12315,"journal":{"name":"Evaluation & the Health Professions","volume":" ","pages":"1632787241259032"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Evaluation & the Health Professions","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/01632787241259032","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Some consider the burnout label to be controversial, even calling for the abandonment of the term in its entirety. In this communication, we argue for the pragmatic utility of the burnout paradigm from a utilitarian perspective, which advocates the greatest good for the most significant number of employees in organisations. We first distinguish between mild work-related burnout complaints and more severe burnout that can be identified in some contexts. We address the classification of burnout as an 'occupational phenomenon' by the World Health Organization and its ambiguous status in the ICD-11, highlighting the challenge of universally diagnosing burnout as a condition. We argue that a purely clinical approach might be too reactive as it normally only identifies employees with a diagnosable condition. We posit that early detection of burnout through valid assessment can identify struggling employees who do not yet have a diagnosable condition. This proactive approach can help prevent escalation into mental health crises and is more sensible for organisations in terms of effectiveness and employee retention.
期刊介绍:
Evaluation & the Health Professions is a peer-reviewed, quarterly journal that provides health-related professionals with state-of-the-art methodological, measurement, and statistical tools for conceptualizing the etiology of health promotion and problems, and developing, implementing, and evaluating health programs, teaching and training services, and products that pertain to a myriad of health dimensions. This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Average time from submission to first decision: 31 days