What's the difference between burnout and depression?

The differences between them become clearer when we look at why they happen.

- Gordon Parker

If your year-end holiday already feels like a distant memory, you are not alone. Burnout—a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion following prolonged stress—has been described in workplaces since a 5th-century monastery in Egypt.

Burnout and depression can look similar and are relatively common conditions. It's estimated that 30 per cent of the Australian workforce is feeling some level of burnout, while almost 20 per cent of Australians are diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives.

So what's the difference between burnout and depression?

Depression is marked by helplessness and burnout by hopelessness. They can have different causes and should also be managed differently.

WHAT IS BURNOUT?

The World Health Organisation defines burnout as an "occupational phenomenon" resulting from excessively demanding workload pressures. While it is typically associated with the workplace, carers of children or elderly parents with demanding needs are also at risk.

Our research created a set of burnout symptoms we captured in the Sydney Burnout Measure to assist self-diagnosis and clinicians undertaking assessments. They include:

People can develop a "burning out" phase after intense work demands over only a week or two. A "burnout" stage usually follows years of unrelenting work pressure.