Toward an understanding of burnout

Burnout is a syndrome characterized by three dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism and ineffectiveness. It arises as a result of an interface between personal factors that are common to many professionals in conjunction with specific factors that are part of the fabric of any organization. The organizational factors include workload, control, the workplace as a supportive community, reward systems, fairness in decision-making and conflicts in group values. Improvement in group function comes with attention to each of these factors.