The Burnout Epidemic:

The Rise of Chronic Stress and How We Can Fix It

A powerful book about burnout for leaders looking to understand employee burnout better and fix it.

The Leadership Book on Burnout - an image of the cover of the Burnout Epidemic; The Rise of Chronic stress and how we can fix it by Jennifer Moss.

In her most recent book on burnout, Jennifer shares, “We tend to think of burnout as a problem we can solve with self-care: more yoga, better breathing techniques, and more resilience”. But the evidence is mounting that applying personal Band-Aid solutions to an epic and rapidly evolving workplace phenomenon isn't enough—it's not even close. If we're going to solve this problem, organizations must take the lead in developing an anti-burnout strategy that moves beyond apps, wellness programs, and perks.

In her compelling new burnout about book, Moss argues there is no cure for burnout. Our current strategies are getting it all wrong – and certainly self-care won’t cure burnout. Organizations need to rethink their approach to wellness entirely. Leveraging her latest research and evidence-based solutions, this burnout book intends to help leaders and individuals first prevent burnout for healthier, happier, and more productive workplaces.

The Burnout Epidemic was published by the Harvard Business Review Press in 2021.

Named 10 Best New Management Books for 2022 by Thinkers50 and nominated for the OWL Literary Award.

Click for a free preview of The Burnout Epidemic Book in Kindle Format.

What Experts Are Saying About This Book About Burnout

  • “It's a worthwhile read for anyone tasked with managing people today — or anyone with a vested interest in seeing their colleagues thrive.”

    Business Insider

  • “Business leaders owe it to themselves to check out this timely and practical plea for more balance.”

    Publishers Weekly

  • “Jennifer Moss hits a home run with this provocative and engaging analysis on the misunderstood topic of burnout. If you want to address this massive issue facing the future of work – read her book on burnout."

    Dan Schawbel, NYTimes Bestselling Author of Back to Human

  • “In these unprecedented times, there is no topic more important for leaders today than how to empathize and care for the well-being of others. Jennifer’s work is a must-read for leaders committed to putting their people first.”

    Jay Anders, VP Leadership & People Development, Molson Coors Beverage Company

  • "Given the challenges this world is experiencing and the once-in-a-generation opportunity for leaders to create a positive trajectory moving forward, this book about burnout matters now more than ever."

    Shawn Achor, NYTimes Bestselling Author of Big Potential

  • “Burnout is today’s burning issue and Jennifer has written a burnout playbook to help us all understand how to address this critical topic. If you care about the people in your organization and setting them up to succeed, this burnout book is a must read.”

    Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Officer and VP, Culture and Learning, GE

  • "This powerful and practical book could not be more timely. As the burnout epidemic is spreading throughout the world, Jennifer Moss offers a much-needed vaccine. With positive side-effects guaranteed!"

    Tal Ben-Shahar, International best-selling author and founder of The Happiness Studies Academy

Beyond The Burnout Book: More Ways To Learn

Keynotes and Public Speaking

LinkedIn Learning Course

“Jennifer tailored her research and findings to us as women in business professions. She highlighted staggering statistics that helped us understand burnout and shared actionable recommendations and opportunities to mitigate burnout.

Not only did she tailor her speaking points to what would be most relevant for our group, but she also spoke in a sensitive, approachable and down-to-earth way. We are so appreciative of Jennifer speaking speaking with us.”

— Ernst & Young

For Leaders: Six Important Questions and Answers About Burnout

What causes burnout? Is there a cure for Burnout? How do we battle Burnout?

Historically, burnout has been considered the outcome of weaknesses on the part of the individual. The World Health Organization disagrees and has declared it an outcome of an unhealthy workplace culture and conditions. There is no cure for burnout, only prevention.

Shouldn’t our wellness initiatives protect employees from chronic burnout?

Wellness Initiatives provide resources that employees may benefit from. Still, they require the employee to be healthy enough to use them and to invest more time and energy to gain the benefits. This is covered in great detail in this book about burnout.

Will training be enough to make a difference for leaders and our teams?

Training leaders will be critically important. However, we must also make employee health a strategic objective. Making Burnout reduction strategic tells leaders and staff that this is important and should be prioritized in our daily and weekly efforts.

How can leaders know whether burnout is a problem in their teams?

Start by measuring an entire organization. Once you understand the causes, correlations, and symptoms, strategies can be deployed to identify predictive and trailing markers of burnout and improve employee well-being.

How can I create a more resilient workplace culture in my organization?

Resilience can be developed over time. It must be planned carefully and baked into every aspect of design and management. Hiring, training, performance management, and policy design require adjustments to reduce burnout.

What role did the pandemic play in magnifying employee burnout?

The Pandemic was like pouring gas on an already lit fire, but it elevated the conversation and increased organizational awareness of the issues. Employee Burnout and Well-being are strategic imperatives in the post-COVID-19 world of work.

The Six Root Causes of Burnout

Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic stress in the workplace that has not been successfully managed. Three dimensions characterize employee burnout:

  • Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;

  • Increased mental distance from one's job, feelings of cynicism related to one's job, and

  • Reduced professional efficacy.

The six things that cause burnout or root causes of burnout:

  • When employees are overworked, there is a snowball effect wherein poor performance resulting from a high workload causes additional stress for employees, causing burnout or intensifying their burnout. Employees who report always having too much to do are more than twice as likely as others to experience work-related burnout. This can lead to chronic stress and is highly detrimental to mental health.

  • Micromanagement can cause burnout. Employees will likely feel unfulfilled, burnt out, or burned out when a role lacks autonomy, novelty, variety, and structured flow. A Swedish study cited in The Burnout Epidemic found that employees with more influence and control over their work reported less depression, fewer absences, and fewer symptoms of almost all negative health indicators and increased happiness at work.

  • Community fosters a sense of belonging. Considering how much time we spend at work, feeling comfortable and supported in that environment is important. For example, sharing gratitude and appreciation for one another in thank-you meetings are ways to build a positive company culture and strong community. Both of which are ways to reduce burnout and improve performance.

  • Employees require incentives to perform at their best. Many roles require employees to go above and beyond, stretching themselves thin at the cost of their mental health, physical health, and happiness at work. Some fields, such as healthcare or policing, have demanding hours and allow little time for rest. In these types of roles, employee appreciation and adequate compensation are especially crucial to sustain employees’ well-being and prevent burnout.

  • A lack of fairness, or organizational justice, is generally a structural issue. Bias, favouritism, unfair policies, unfair compensation, and poor treatment by managers and/or coworkers all hinder the employee experience and foster a culture of unfairness. Having effective complaint mechanisms in place, promptly responding to all employee inquiries, and a corporate strategy around fairness are conducive to a healthy work environment and helpful in preventing burn out.

  • Before the 2008 recession, one in five people were overqualified for their role. That figure has since increased to one in four. This is significant because overqualified employees report higher rates of depression, anxiety, and burnout than their appropriately qualified counterparts. Over-qualification and a resultant negative job attitude are bad for morale and performance and often result in employee and leadership burnout. Organizations should hire the right fits for their openings, meaning that the employee’s and company’s goals and expectations are aligned.