The world’s top health experts are now classifying burnout as a legitimate medical condition, in a move that is likely to force employers to take work-life balance more seriously.

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially placed burnout on its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) list at its recent World Health Assembly in Geneva – a list considered a global benchmark for health diagnosis.

Deakin Business School Professor, Alexander Newman, told the SBS that the classification would empower workers suffering from burnout by making it easier to take sick-leave.

“I believe WHO classifying workplace burnout as an official medical diagnosis will lead business organisations to take work-life balance more seriously, and implement wellbeing programs to prevent workplace burnout.”

“The classification will also allow more individuals to obtain a medical diagnosis for workplace burnout, which will enable them to take time off on sick leave to recover.”

What is burnout?

According to the official WHO definition, burnout is “a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It is typically the result of long work hours coupled with severe job stress. And because it can be chronic in nature, it can have serious long term impacts on worker’s health and performance.

The WHO say it is characterised by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
• reduced professional efficacy. Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.

The WHO noted that burnout is only applicable in the workplace, and should not be applied to describe “experiences in other areas of life.”

Does burnout affect safety?

As well as having obvious negative impacts on worker productivity, recent research appears to confirm the belief that workers who are emotionally and physically exhausted are less safe and significantly more likely to be involved in an incident.

A recent study of US firefighters found that burnout led to diminished safety performance, and that firefighters suffering from burnout were far less likely to voice safety concerns, use PPE properly, and perform their work in a routinely safe manner (see related article).

Another study from the American Society of Safety Engineers found those “who exhibited burnout symptoms at least once a month saw a 19 per cent increase in their risk of serious injury as compared with people who experienced burnout symptoms less often.”

What can employers do?

Experts say the most effective way to prevent burnout is to create a working environment that promotes comfortable working conditions with reasonable working hours. Workers should have a clear expectation of what their role requires, and should receive ongoing support from superiors.