Burnout is a psychological syndrome of exhaustion,cynicism, and inefficacy in the workplace. It is considered to be an individual stress experience embedded in a context of complex social relationships,and it involves the person’s conception of both selfand others on the job. Unlike unidimensional modelsof stress, this multidimensional model conceptualizes burnout in terms of its three core components.

Exhaustion refers to feelings of being overextended and depleted of one’s emotional and physical resources. Workers feel drained and used up, without any source of replenishment. They lack enough energy to face another day or another person in need. The exhaustion component represents the basic individual stress dimension of burnout.

Cynicism refers to a negative, hostile, or excessively detached response to the job, which often includes a loss of idealism. It usually develops in response to the overload of emotional exhaustion and is selfprotective at first – an emotional buffer of detached concern. But the risk is that the detachment can turn into dehumanization. The cynicism component represents the interpersonal dimension of burnout. Inefficacy refers to a decline in feelings of competence and productivity at work. People experience a growing sense of inadequacy about their ability to do the job well, and this may result in a self-imposed verdict of failure. The inefficacy component represents the self-evaluation dimension of burnout.

What has been distinctive about burnout is the interpersonal framework of the phenomenon. The centrality of relationships at work – whether it be relationships with clients, colleagues, or supervisors – has always been at the heart of descriptions of burnout. These relationships are the source of both emotional strains and rewards, they can be a resource for coping with job stress, and they often bear the brunt of the negative effects of burnout. Thus, if one were to look at burnout out of context and simply focus on the individual exhaustion component, one would lose sight of the phenomenon entirely.

The principal measure of burnout is the Maslach

The opposite of burnout is not a neutral state, but a definite state of mental health within the occupational domain. Engagement with work is a productive and fulfilling state, and is defined in terms of the same three dimensions as burnout, but the positive end of those dimensions rather than the negative. Thus, engagement consists of a state of high energy (rather than exhaustion), strong involvement (rather than cynicism), and a sense of efficacy (rather than inefficacy). One important implication of the burnout– engagement continuum is that strategies to promote engagement may be just as important for burnout prevention as strategies to reduce the risk of burnout. A workplace that is designed to support the positive development of the three core qualities of energy, involvement, and effectiveness should be successful in promoting the well-being and productivity of its employees, and thus the health of the entire organization. From this perspective, health is not limited to the physical or emotional well-being of individuals but is evident in enduring patterns of social interactions among people.

Inherent to the fundamental concept of stress is the problematic relationship between the individual and the situation. Thus, prior research has tried to identify both the key personal and job characteristics that put individuals at risk for burnout. In general, far more evidence has been found for the impact of job variables than for personal ones. These job factors fall into

Although job variables and the organizational context are the prime predictors of burnout and engagement, a few personality variables have shown some consistent correlational patterns. In general, burnout scores are higher for people who have a less hardy personality, who have a more external locus of control, and who score as neurotic on the Five-Factor Model of personality. There is also some evidence that people who exhibit type A behavior (which tends to predict coronary heart disease) are more prone to the exhaustion dimension of burnout. There are few consistent relationships of burnout