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  • The End of Burnout

  • Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives
  • By: Jonathan Malesic
  • Narrated by: David Booth
  • Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The End of Burnout

By: Jonathan Malesic
Narrated by: David Booth
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Publisher's Summary

Going beyond the how and why of burnout, a former tenured professor combines academic methods and first-person experience to propose new ways for resisting our cultural obsession with work and transforming our vision of human flourishing.

Burnout has become our go-to term for talking about the pressure and dissatisfaction we experience at work. But because we don’t really understand what burnout means, the discourse does little to help workers who are suffering from exhaustion and despair. Jonathan Malesic was one of those workers, and to escape, he quit his job as a tenured professor. In The End of Burnout, he dives into the history and psychology of burnout, traces the origin of the high ideals we bring to our dismal jobs, and profiles the individuals and communities who are already resisting our cultural commitment to constant work.

In The End of Burnout, Malesic traces his own history as someone who burned out of a tenured job to frame this rigorous investigation of how and why so many of us feel worn out, alienated, and useless in our work. Through research on the science, culture, and philosophy of burnout, Malesic explores the gap between our vocation and our jobs, and between the ideals we have for work and the reality of what we have to do. He eschews the usual prevailing wisdom in confronting burnout (“Learn to say no!” “Practice mindfulness!”) to examine how our jobs have been constructed as a symbol of our value and our total identity. Beyond looking at what drives burnout - unfairness, a lack of autonomy, a breakdown of community, mismatches of values - this book spotlights groups that are addressing these failures of ethics. We can look to communities of monks, employees of a Dallas nonprofit, intense hobbyists, and artists with disabilities to see the possibilities for resisting a “total work” environment and the paths to recognizing the dignity of workers and nonworkers alike. In this critical yet deeply humane book, Malesic offers the vocabulary we need to recognize burnout, overcome burnout culture, and find moral significance in our lives beyond work.

©2022 Jonathan Malesic (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

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A slow build for some great insights on burnout

In the first third to half of this book the author takes a tour of burnout research and historical conditions. I found it quite dry and overly academic, but can see the value and base that it builds. Things get much more interesting at the half way mark.

Some excellent thinking about the role of burnout in modern society, it’s causes (including the Protestant work ethic) and effects. The gap between work role expectations and reality is an insightful point. As is the description of work martyrdom being a modern virtue.

Also considers burnout from different perspectives, including highly professional social job (doctors), low paid social jobs, and a counter point with different religious orders.

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Empowering

This book gives great insight and lots of moments where unsettling beliefs are confirmed. After reading this book I have a far more balanced view of myself and what 'work' means to me.

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