An epidemiologist and a law student say the phenomenon is real, not imagined. Re “Is Burnout Real?” (Op-Ed, June 4): Dr. Richard A. Friedman notes that the World Health Organization upgraded burnout from a “state” of exhaustion to a “syndrome” resulting from “chronic workplace stress.” He concludes that this change symbolizes the medicalization of normal everyday stress and discomfort because of unrealistic cultural expectations of workplaces being “stress-free at all times.” An alternative argument, supported by voluminous social science research, is that social-structural and political transformations over decades have led to pervasive job insecurity. My own research linksstressors derived from the Great Recession to depression, anxiety and problem drinking. Dr. Friedman additionally notes that medical school training is inherently stressful, and recent efforts to promote wellness among medical students involve making promises that cannot be kept. My research shows that unnecessary stressors, like sexual harassment and bullying behaviors, lead to deleterious mental health outcomes. Yes, Dr. Friedman is correct that “medicalization” (if defined by pharmaceutical interventions) is not a solution. But creating more decent educational and workplace environments by altered social policies suggested by some of the presidential contenders, like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, will improve the quality of life for students and workers. We know that our institutions care more about the money we pay in tuition than about students’ health or well-being. It is this, and not the baby-boomer accusation that millennials expect life to be easy, that accounts for our emotional exhaustion, disconnection and sense of inefficacy. We know that no matter how many degrees we get, our debt will outweigh them. We don’t expect to own homes or to provide our children with a higher level of material well-being than we had. We see our society leaning into hate and fear. Is it any wonder that we feel exhausted and struggle to find meaning in our jobs or studies? Our burnout isn’t because we expect too much; it’s because we know better. Source
