Definition

A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged workplace stress. Now officially recognized by WHO as an occupational phenomenon, validating what employees have been complaining about for decades.

Example Usage

After working 70-hour weeks for six months straight, Sarah's burnout manifested as complete inability to respond to Slack messages.

Origin

Coined by psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974 after observing it in healthcare workers

Fun Fact

The WHO's ICD-11 classification specifically notes that burnout refers exclusively to occupational context and shouldn't be applied to other life areas.

Source: Occupational health and WHO classification terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

Team Building

Mandatory fun activities designed to make coworkers bond through shared awkwardness. Options include escape rooms where you discover your boss can't solve puzzles, trust falls that reveal trust issues, and cooking classes where Karen from accounting reveals she's a tyrant.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

cultural add

A hiring philosophy focusing on candidates who bring new perspectives and diversity rather than simply fitting existing culture. The enlightened evolution of 'culture fit' after everyone realized that just meant 'people like us.'

👥 Human Resources
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seagull manager

A manager who swoops in unexpectedly, makes a lot of noise, dumps on everything, and flies away leaving others to clean up the mess. They're absent until there's a crisis, then arrive to criticize without context or solutions.

👥 Human Resources
Beginner

Flexible Work

An arrangement that means you can work from anywhere at any time, which actually means you'll work from everywhere at all times. The flexibility is that the company is flexible about how much of your personal life it absorbs.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

whistleblower protection

Legal safeguards preventing retaliation against employees who report illegal or unethical company behavior. It's supposed to encourage speaking up, though in practice it often just ensures your career dies more slowly.

👥 Human Resources
Intermediate

Cross-Functional

An adjective meaning your project involves people from different departments who have never spoken to each other and have conflicting priorities. Cross-functional collaboration is when everyone brings their own agenda to a meeting and calls it teamwork.

👥 Human Resources

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