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Throwing the baby out with the bathwater – while adding the bathtub too: a rejoinder to "Beliefs about burnout" of Bianchi and Schonfeld.

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Title: Throwing the baby out with the bathwater – while adding the bathtub too: a rejoinder to "Beliefs about burnout" of Bianchi and Schonfeld.
Authors: De Witte, Hans, Schaufeli, Wilmar
Source: Work & Stress. Apr-Jun2025, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p143-152. 10p.
Subjects: Psychological burnout, Work environment, Job stress, Mental depression
Abstract: In their commentary, [Bianchi, R. & Schonfeld, I. (2025. Beliefs about burnout. Work & Stress)] discuss three beliefs about burnout and state that these "rest on insufficient evidence": (1) burnout is primarily predicted by work-related factors; (2) a burnout epidemic exists; and (3) burnout can be differentiated from depression. We argue that the authors' presentation of these ideas runs the risk of not only throwing the baby out with the bathwater but also throwing away the bathtub. Our rejoinder first of all emphasises the need to distinguish between (typically mild) burnout complaints, and burnout disorder (or "clinical burnout"). We conclude that there are compelling empirical grounds to consider both burnout complaints and burnout disorder to be work related. Next, we present evidence that burnout complaints increased slightly over time, whereas clinical burnout is rather exceptional and stable, suggesting that the notion of a "burnout pandemic" is indeed overstated. Finally, conceptual and empirical evidence and evidence from clinical practice indicates that both burnout complaints and burnout disorder can be meaningfully differentiated from depression. We conclude that a nuanced debate is preferable to a simplistic rejection of burnout, based on both conceptual and empirical grounds and the relevance of the burnout concept for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Work & Stress is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: In their commentary, [Bianchi, R. & Schonfeld, I. (2025. Beliefs about burnout. Work & Stress)] discuss three beliefs about burnout and state that these "rest on insufficient evidence": (1) burnout is primarily predicted by work-related factors; (2) a burnout epidemic exists; and (3) burnout can be differentiated from depression. We argue that the authors' presentation of these ideas runs the risk of not only throwing the baby out with the bathwater but also throwing away the bathtub. Our rejoinder first of all emphasises the need to distinguish between (typically mild) burnout complaints, and burnout disorder (or "clinical burnout"). We conclude that there are compelling empirical grounds to consider both burnout complaints and burnout disorder to be work related. Next, we present evidence that burnout complaints increased slightly over time, whereas clinical burnout is rather exceptional and stable, suggesting that the notion of a "burnout pandemic" is indeed overstated. Finally, conceptual and empirical evidence and evidence from clinical practice indicates that both burnout complaints and burnout disorder can be meaningfully differentiated from depression. We conclude that a nuanced debate is preferable to a simplistic rejection of burnout, based on both conceptual and empirical grounds and the relevance of the burnout concept for practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Work & Stress is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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              Text: Apr-Jun2025
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