Is your job stressing you out? You aren’t alone. The World Health Organization now includes “burn-out” as a mental health issue associated with employment in the ICD-11 diagnostic tool.
The frazzled feeling that hits you at the end of a 40 hour (more like 40 plus, plus, plus) week is real. According to the WHO’s ICD-11 definition, “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
photo: Energepic.com via Pexels
So how does WHO characterize work-related burn-out? The ICD-11 definition includes, “Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion,” along with, “increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job” and, “reduced professional efficacy.”
Even though the global ICD-11 guidelines now count workplace burn-out as an actual mental health issue (at least when the guidelines take effect in 2022), the U.S.’s DSM-5 diagnostic manual does not include the all-too-common problem. But don’t let that make you feel like the serious case of exhaustion you have is just a case of the post-work Friday evening tireds. Judging by WHO’s newest definition, job-related stress is the real deal for many adults worldwide.
—Erica Loop
RELATED STORIES
Walmart Is Helping Moms Ease Back Into the Workforce with This Incredible Program
The Holderness Family’s Holiday Parody Is Everything You Need at the End of the School Year
New Survey Sheds Light on Working Moms & the Impact of Infant Sleep
Need some fresh ideas?
Related reads
