(A Very Short) Introduction to Burnout

This chapter deals with the psychological underpinnings of burnout and other related phenomena. The main aim of this chapter is to give an overview of the psychological mechanisms for those who do not come from the field of business psychology. Using short stories and examples, we show how burnout appears and what are the main drivers for its appearance (or its prevention). This chapter equips you with the basic knowledge in the field of burnout and provides you with one of the core theories tackling burnout—the Job Demands-Resources model. The most interesting thing is that this theory is compatible (commensurable) with the theories of business process management, i.e. process managers can learn why and how process management tools can address burnout.