Going to War with Burnout - Less Hours Isn't Your Only Option
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Oct 27, 2025
Burnout isn't just about working less; it's about taking control. Discover how increasing your autonomy can effectively combat the stressors of the workplace. The podcast explains the three dimensions of burnout and critiques common advice like taking time off. Instead, it offers strategies to ask for resources and training from managers to enhance professional efficacy. Learn why the balance of demands and resources matters and how identical workweeks can feel vastly different depending on the tools and support you have.
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Burnout Defined By Symptoms Not Hours
Burnout is a syndrome from chronic workplace stress and has three dimensions: exhaustion, mental distance/negativity, and reduced efficacy.
The ICD-11 definition doesn't mention hours worked, bosses, or coworkers as direct inputs to burnout.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
'Do Less' Is Not Always Practical
Common advice tells you to work less, take PTO, or find a new job to reduce stress by reducing workload.
Jonathan warns these 'do less' fixes may be impractical and can conflict with career goals.
insights INSIGHT
Manage Stress By Changing The System
Instead of only reducing workload, improve how stress is managed by changing underlying factors that affect stress response.
Increasing control, agency, and resources changes how stress is incurred and cleared.
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I'm tackling a massive challenge today: burnout. While the standard advice usually involves working less, I want to show you a practical dimension of burnout you have more control over, focusing on increasing your agency and autonomy to manage chronic workplace stress more effectively. Burnout is classified by the ICD-11 as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
This episode includes practical advice for understanding and addressing burnout by shifting focus from reducing work volume to increasing control and resources.
Understand the three dimensions of burnout as classified by the ICD-11: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance/negativity toward the job, and reduced professional efficacy.
Discover why the amount of time you work is not a direct input to burnout, meaning working less is often impractical and may not solve the underlying issue.
Learn the core philosophy for addressing burnout: In order to control stress, provide control (meaning agency and autonomy).
Explore why stress is directly correlated to the ratio of demands placed on you versus the resources (including decision-making power, training, and tooling) you have to meet those demands.
I’ll give you practical ways to approach your manager to secure necessary resources, training, or mentoring to improve your professional efficacy and reduce job negativity.
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