Burnout Syndrome in an International Setting

Burnout is a global concern and work-related stress has the potential to negatively affect the individual’s psychological and physical health, as well as an organization’s effectiveness. Therefore, it is recognized worldwide as a major challenge to workers’ health and the functioning of their organizations. In the last decade, several epidemiological studies have found a high prevalence of the professional stress syndrome of burnout in western and developing countries (Maslach et al. 2001 ) . Burnout is usually assessed in an occupational setting and most occupational groups, white-collar (civil servants), blue-collar (manual workers) and the “helping” professions (health care workers, caregivers, and teachers) may be affected (Felton 1998 ; Valente et al. 2011 ) . Nevertheless, burnout syndrome occurs mainly among professionals whose work involves constant demands and intense interactions with people who have physical and emotional needs. The term “burnout” was fi rst used by Herbert Freudenberger ( 1974 ) in the mid1970s and since then several theoretical models have been developed. Burnout syndrome is associated with daily chronic stress rather than with occasional events, and has been described as an inability to cope with emotional stress at work (Felton 1998 ) . Individual and organizational factors are involved in burnout, and there is an exchange between these two parts. An individual’s characteristics, such as personality, values, goals, age, gender, level of education, and family situation may interact with