Burnout
Wed, Feb 28
One of the biggest challenges we face at work today is "burnout," but this loosely defined phenomenon itself is somewhat mysterious--as is its increasing prevalence. The term was coined in the 1970s by a psychologist who first diagnosed it in himself and the care workers at the free clinic he helped to run, and has long been a condition associated with those in caring professions. Increasingly, though, it's become a cultural phenomenon. Today, we'll investigate burnout from a philosophical point of view, asking whether it is perhaps a symptom of social or cultural assumptions about work unique to our historical situation.
Goals - by the end of today's class, you will:
- Know what "burnout" is, and understand the conditions under which people tend to experience it;
- Understand what Han means when he claims that we live in a “burnout society” (vs. a "disciplinary socity," etc.) and know which cultural and social factors he thinks contribute to this problem; and
- Critically evaluate the role work (and especially contemporary work virtues like “productivity,” "innovation," "hustle," etc.) play in perpetuating (or creating) the conditions for our “burnout society.”
Read This:
(Access readings on Perusall)
Primary Reading: Han, The Burnout Society (excerpt)
Secondary Reading (Optional): Anne Helen Petersen, "'How Millenials Became the Burnout Generation" (Buzzfeed)
Do This:
After completing the readings for today, consider the following questions (which we will talk about in class):
- What is "burnout"? Have you ever experienced it? What conditions contribute to someone's burning out, and how might we avoid burn out in our work?
- In the chapter we read for today, Han claims that the rise of conditions like burnout (and even serious mental illness like anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders) are, at least in part, related to cultural values we hold, many of which relate to work. Does he make a persuasive argument? What did you find most plausible in his account? What did you find least plausible?