The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-07 09:51:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jonathan Malesic
- ISBN：0520344073
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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。
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。
Reviews
Katie
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Unrealistic。 The cure for burnout = everyone work less and give everyone the right to not work at all。 Where will our food， shelter， and clothing come from if everyone is allowed to sit around and make art all day？ Someone has to work…
Jeff Zell
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Burnout and work is a personal subject for Malesic。 He was in his dream job as a college professor。 He taught what he wanted to teach and even achieved tenure， but he still got burned out。 This book explains why。 In these pages we learn about Malesic's experience and we also learn about how work has changed in America。 He introduces us to studies on work， the history of work， and also individuals and groups that have learned to put work in its proper place。 I think the biggest take away from thi Burnout and work is a personal subject for Malesic。 He was in his dream job as a college professor。 He taught what he wanted to teach and even achieved tenure， but he still got burned out。 This book explains why。 In these pages we learn about Malesic's experience and we also learn about how work has changed in America。 He introduces us to studies on work， the history of work， and also individuals and groups that have learned to put work in its proper place。 I think the biggest take away from this book for me was his conversation about his own previously unexamined "ideals" of what work is and does and how that clashed with the "reality" of work and its environment。 Anyone reading this book， will be led into introspection contemplation of their own ideals about work and how they resonate with reality。 Two groups I particularly enjoyed reading about was the Benedictine monks and nuns and the social agency in Dallas， Texas。 Malesic's concerns about work continue on his sub stack: https://jonmalesic。substack。com/p/the。。。Malesic proposes two changes in American work life: a limited work week and a universal life payment。 I don't see either of those two things happening anytime soon， but they are worth investigating for a our country's sanity and well being in coming decades。 。。。more
Kris
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Really insightful book about work and identity and the lines that we need to be careful to preserve between them。 I highlighted all over the place in my ebook version。
Naomi Satake
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Enjoyed the part about the Benedictines and Work Saints/Work Martyrs
Jessica Gleason
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This felt like a trick。 I was so into it at the beginning thinking "yes， yes， yes" to the author's thoughts and feelings， but it lost me around Ch。 4。 There weren't really any useful or practical tips here。 Compassionate leadership is needed， we should have more personal time and better divides between work and life。 Basically， the system needs to burn。 But， none of that was actually helpful。 Though， some of the stories were still interesting。 This felt like a trick。 I was so into it at the beginning thinking "yes， yes， yes" to the author's thoughts and feelings， but it lost me around Ch。 4。 There weren't really any useful or practical tips here。 Compassionate leadership is needed， we should have more personal time and better divides between work and life。 Basically， the system needs to burn。 But， none of that was actually helpful。 Though， some of the stories were still interesting。 。。。more
Cristina Liquori
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While the beginning of this book is interesting and the history of burnout kept me engaged， the proposed solutions in this book are unrealistic。 The book is too autobiographical at times， and sometimes is winding in making its point。
Laura May
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This was really not my jam。 I suspect the author got more out of writing it than the readers will from reading it; and that's okay。 This was really not my jam。 I suspect the author got more out of writing it than the readers will from reading it; and that's okay。 。。。more
Joshua
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Basically an extended meditation on a "sabbath lifestyle" （though it doesn't use that phrase）。 Pretty compassionate。 Malesic seems like a likable guy。As I've mentioned in my reviews of several other books recently， I found it quite relatable。I agree with the conclusion that we should be excited， not anxious， about robots "taking our jobs。" As has been the case since at least 2015， I would like to devote my career to making that happen。 A post-scarcity economy would be great。 But can we achieve t Basically an extended meditation on a "sabbath lifestyle" （though it doesn't use that phrase）。 Pretty compassionate。 Malesic seems like a likable guy。As I've mentioned in my reviews of several other books recently， I found it quite relatable。I agree with the conclusion that we should be excited， not anxious， about robots "taking our jobs。" As has been the case since at least 2015， I would like to devote my career to making that happen。 A post-scarcity economy would be great。 But can we achieve that？I'm mostly convinced now that universal basic income is a good idea。 But I still can't quite bring myself to support it if it's administered by the state because that involves violence， or the threat thereof。 But a privately funded UBI would be great。 In theory， the Christian church is supposed to provide a "social safety net" with no need for government action， but that has sadly not been the case lately。Oh， and it seemed to me to take pains to be politically correct。 But I don't really object to any of that。 I'm probably just oversensitive to it because I've been trained by libertarians to associate political correctness with virtue signaling and leftism rather than with love。 I wouldn't be surprised if this book eventually got negative reviews from conservatives for that reason， but…I've got no problem with it。 Am I myself now virtue signaling， trying to convince any leftist readers of this review that I'm not like the other libertarians？ I can't tell。（Thu 10 Feb 2022 05:48:23 PM CST） 。。。more
Frank
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A new book published this month focuses on the burnout brought about by the concept of work above all else in modern capitalism。 In the first part， the author draws on his own experience to explore the historical causes， symptoms， and assessment of the increasingly common phenomenon of workplace burnout， or the feeling of exhaustion， behind the work-centered life of today。 Although burnout is not yet judged by a relatively precise standard and is more of a gray spectrum than a black-and-white th A new book published this month focuses on the burnout brought about by the concept of work above all else in modern capitalism。 In the first part， the author draws on his own experience to explore the historical causes， symptoms， and assessment of the increasingly common phenomenon of workplace burnout， or the feeling of exhaustion， behind the work-centered life of today。 Although burnout is not yet judged by a relatively precise standard and is more of a gray spectrum than a black-and-white threshold， people who have all three negative states - fatigue， apathy， and feeling worthless - are likely to fall into burnout category and should be alerted to it。In the second part， the author communicates with organizations or individuals who have naturally avoided or fought their way out of burnout through fieldwork and remote video interviews。 The authors conclude that organizations need to maintain the dignity of their members and give individuals autonomy; individuals need to value and use their leisure time， explore hobbies， and build and maintain a community of interaction with others， which can effectively reduce the probability of burnout and its subsequent effects。The author ends with a humorous note: the era of intelligent robots is coming， so let them be burnout， and we can do something else 😂。This book is worth reading for those who are trying to strike a balance between life and work， as well as for those who are already experiencing burnout symptoms。 。。。more
Ml Lalonde
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I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you’re drawn to a book about burnout， you’re probably wondering where all your work is leading you and whether there is likely to be any relief。 I was prompted to pick up this book after reading a piece that the author wrote for the New York Times。 In the spirit of “writing what you know” Malesic’s research is rooted in his experience of burning out whilst seemingly having everything he’d ever wanted - a tenure track position at a good college， autonomy， p I think it’s pretty safe to say that if you’re drawn to a book about burnout， you’re probably wondering where all your work is leading you and whether there is likely to be any relief。 I was prompted to pick up this book after reading a piece that the author wrote for the New York Times。 In the spirit of “writing what you know” Malesic’s research is rooted in his experience of burning out whilst seemingly having everything he’d ever wanted - a tenure track position at a good college， autonomy， prestige and a solid relationship。 In the midst of what popular culture is lovingly calling “The Great Resignation”， the author explores the idea of work with an academic’s eye， and uncovers some painful truths about how society has been sold the idea that a job should provide workers with a path to transcendence - that overwork becomes a sort of martyrdom。 If you are what you do， what happens when you can no longer do that thing？ This is not a self help book - despite what the title might suggest - but rather an examination of the past and future of work， with particular attention on a few groups and individuals who have happily stepped outside what society expects of them。 It painstakingly makes the case for working less and finding meaning outside your job。 There’s a lovely section on how a group of Benedictine monks are countering our work-obsessed culture by following the Rule of St。 Benedict。 An interesting read。 。。。more
rivka
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Between the snippet in yesterday's Chronicle of Higher Education and the longer excerpt on the publisher's website， this definitely looks intriguing。I'll probably wait for the price to drop a bit （or used copies to be available） though。 Between the snippet in yesterday's Chronicle of Higher Education and the longer excerpt on the publisher's website， this definitely looks intriguing。I'll probably wait for the price to drop a bit （or used copies to be available） though。 。。。more
Chris Boutté
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