Burnout: Lessons from Pandemic and Beyond

This book offers an extensive look into the ways living through the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened our understanding of the crises people experience in their relationships with work. Leading experts explore burnout as an occupational phenomenon that arises through mismatches between workplace and individuals on the day-to-day patterns in work life.

By disrupting where, when, and how people worked, pandemic measures upset the delicate balances in place regarding core areas of work life. Chapters examine the profound implications of social distancing on the quality and frequency of social encounters among colleagues, with management, and with clientele. The book covers a variety of occupational groups such as those in the healthcare and education sectors, and demonstrates the advantages and strains that come with working from home. The authors also consider the broader social context of working through the pandemic regarding risks and rewards for essential workers. By focusing on changes in organisational structures, policies, and practices, this book looks at effective ways forward in both recovering from this pandemic and preparing for further workplace disruptions.

A wide audience of students and researchers in psychology, management, business, healthcare, and social sciences, as well as policy makers in government and professional organisations, will benefit from this detailed insight into the ways COVID-19 has affected contemporary work attitudes and practices.

Michael P. Leiter PhD has researched burnout extensively as a Professor and Canada Research Chair at Acadia University in Canada and as Professor of Organisational Psychology at Deakin University in Australia. He currently provides research and consulting services on burnout and workplace civility to organizations around the world.

Cary L. Cooper, CBE is the 50th Anniversary Professor of Organizational Psychology & Health at the ALLIANCE Manchester Business School, University of Manchester, UK, and Chair of the National Forum for Health & Wellbeing at Work (comprised of 45 global employers). He was knighted by the Queen for services to the social sciences in 2014, and was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the British Psychological Society.