This is a free excerpt from one of Shortform’s Articles. We give you all the important information you need to know about current events and more.
Don't miss out on the whole story. Sign up for a free trial here .
How has society’s understanding of exhaustion evolved over centuries? What makes today’s digital workplace uniquely exhausting?
While we’ve suffered from exhaustion throughout history, today’s version is different. Often seen as workplace burnout, it’s exacerbated by digital overload and the blurring of lines between work and home life.
Continue reading to learn about the history of burnout and what can be done to lessen the severity.
Burnout Through the Ages
Societies have long grappled with exhaustion, with medical experts and cultural observers casting it as everything from a biochemical imbalance to a viral disease to a spiritual failing. Here’s a look at the history of burnout:
- In ancient Greece, doctors blamed exhaustion on excessive black bile in the body.
- Medieval religious scholars saw fatigue as a problem of acedia (a state of not caring) and sin.
- 18th century Scottish physician, George Cheyne, attributed low spirits and lethargy to the “English Malady,” a condition stemming from growing wealth and lazy, luxurious lifestyles.
- 19th century physician George Beard cited the cause of “nervous exhaustion” to modern developments like the telegraph, steam power, scientific advances, and women’s increasing participation in intellectual life.
- Contemporary workplace culture views exhaustion as a failure of individuals to properly manage their physical and mental well-being.
While exhaustion has remained a constant human experience throughout history, today’s researchers identify it differently. They say it’s one component of the larger phenomenon of workplace burnout—which manifests as severe fatigue, increasing detachment from work, and persistent self-doubt about one’s professional competence.
| 3 Different Types of Burnout In his book Feel-Good Productivity, Ali Abdaal distinguishes between three different types of burnout. Burnout Type #1: Strain To begin his discussion on the three types of burnout and how to overcome them, Abdaal talks about strain. Strain happens when you’re simply trying to do too much; even the positive energy you get from feel-good productivity has limits. So, just like exercising too much can cause you to strain a muscle, doing too much can cause you to “strain” your well-being. You can avoid or recover from this type of burnout by taking a healthier approach to your day-to-day work. Burnout Type #2: Drain Abdaal’s second type of burnout is a counterpart to the first: Whereas strain happens when you work too much, drain happens when you don’t get enough rest after working. Naturally, this can happen because you don’t take enough time for yourself—however, the problem could also be that you’re not resting in a way that’s truly restorative. Abdaal explains that effective types of rest help you to feel calm and (temporarily) free of any demands on your time or energy. Each person is different, so only you can discover exactly what works for you. Burnout Type #3: Mismatch Abdaal’s final type of burnout, mismatch, happens when your work doesn’t line up with your interests and principles. If what you’re doing feels meaningless, that’s a clear sign you’re headed for this kind of burnout. The easiest way to tell whether you’re suffering from mismatch is to think about why you’re working on something; in short, what’s motivating you? If your only motivation is some kind of reward, such as a paycheck, prestige, or someone else’s goodwill, then the task isn’t a good match for you. |
Digital Burnout
Just as 19th-century physician George Beard blamed exhaustion on the rapid pace of modern developments, today’s digital communications are overwhelming workers in unprecedented ways. Between February 2020 and 2022, employees spent 250% more time in online meetings. Meanwhile, overall digital communication continues to rise, with no signs of slowing.
- Email, chat, and video conferencing now consume nearly 60% of workers’ time, leaving just 40% for creative work.
- Managing email alone consumes about nine hours weekly—equivalent to a full workday—for one in four workers.
- Seven in 10 workers say constant digital interruptions prevent them from focusing during the workday.
Burnout Is a Systemic Issue
Throughout history, societies have tried to combat exhaustion by focusing on individual remedies—from ancient Greeks attempting to balance body fluids to medieval scholars prescribing prayer and spiritual practice. But experts say today’s exhaustion, which contributes to widespread workplace burnout, resists such individual solutions because it stems from multiple sources:
- A work-first culture that deprioritizes basic human needs like healthy food, regular exercise, and social connections—activities people increasingly sacrifice due to work demands and stress.
- Exposure to stressors beyond people’s control, like global crises.
- Financial insecurity despite full-time work, as jobs that once supported a house, car, and family on a single income now barely cover basic needs.
As a result, company efforts to combat burnout through one-off events and activities, like pizza days and yoga sessions, have proven ineffective because they ignore structural causes. The consequences of this mismatch between individual solutions and systemic problems are severe: workplace burnout increases risk of depression, substance abuse, and suicide, and can spread throughout entire workplaces. Organizations that don’t address the issue face increased workplace errors and loss of trained staff.
What Can Organizations Do to Help?
Experts say organizations must recognize burnout as a structural problem, not an individual resilience issue, and make fundamental changes to workplace culture.
To address the digital overload that characterizes modern exhaustion, organizations can implement specific communication strategies:
- Limit email to one-way information sharing and simple questions that need only a single response.
- Establish daily office hours for back-and-forth discussions, and have employees wait for responses during these designated times rather than demanding immediate replies.
Organizations should also rethink how work is structured and valued:
- Identify and eliminate unnecessary tasks so employees can spend more time on meaningful work they excel at.
- Explain workplace changes to employees and celebrate individual accomplishments to prevent workers from feeling like worthless widgets.
Companies that effectively address burnout and well-being will likely see improved product quality and safety, along with higher employee engagement.
Want to fast-track your learning? With Shortform, you’ll gain insights you won't find anywhere else .
Here's what you’ll get when you sign up for Shortform :
- Complicated ideas explained in simple and concise ways
- Smart analysis that connects what you’re reading to other key concepts
- Writing with zero fluff because we know how important your time is
