WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has challenged the common belief that burnout is mainly caused by work.
'People who experience burnout describe stress in their daily lives which leads to a form of depression,' said psychologist Renzo Bianchi, as per Science Alert.
'You could call it depressive stress in life.'
During the study, researchers looked at 813 workers in Norway. Some of them expressed that they were feeling burned out. They were further asked about what they thought was causing the burnout, exhaustion, or stress.
While burnout was often linked to work-related factors, some things like job security and support from coworkers were more closely tied to general mental stress than burnout specifically, the researchers noted.
Interestingly, the finding supports other research that shows burnout is not always caused by work as only about 28 percent of the recent study's participants said their job was the main reason for it.
The study, published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, also found that stress from family life, health problems, or money issues can also play a big role in burnout.
'I think it is important to conduct more research on this, and especially on what impact personality has. Constantly worrying about what could go wrong is exhausting,' Bianchi commented.
To help prevent burnout at work, the researchers recommended improving job security, building strong support among coworkers, and having more control over the tasks.
'Not everyone is as fortunate to love their job, and as a result, have the capacity to tolerate more stress at work,' advised Bianchi. 'But it is important to find a meaningful job and then put in the work needed to succeed.'
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