阅读理解 Everyone has seen it happen. A colleague who has been excited involved, and productive slowly begins to pull back, lose energy and interest, and becomes a shadow of his or her former self. Or, a person who has been a beacon of vision and idealism retreats into despair or cynicism. What happened? How does someone who is capable and committed become a person who functions minimally and does not seem to care for the job or the people that work there?
Burnout is a chronic state of depleted energy, lack of commitment and involvement, and continual frustration, often accompanied at work by physical symptoms, disability claims and performance problem. Job burnout is a crisis of spirit, when work that was once exciting and meaningful becomes deadening. An organization's most valuable resource—the energy, dedication, and creativity of its employees is often squandered by a climate that limits or frustrates the pool of talent and energy available.
Milder forms of burnout are a problem at every level in every type of work. The burned-out manager comes to work, but he brings a shell rather than a person. He experiences little satisfaction, and feels uninvolved, detached, and uncommitted to his work and co-workers. While he may be effective by external standards, he works far below his own level of productivity. The people around him are deeply affected by his attitude and energy level, and the whole community begins to suffer.
Burnout is a crisis of the spirit because people who burn out were once on fire. It's especially scary and consequential because it strikes some of the most talented. If they can't maintain their fire, others ask, who can? Are these people lost forever, or can the inner flame be rekindled? People often feel that burnout just comes upon them and that they are helpless victims of it. Actually, the evidence is growing that there were ways for individuals to safeguard and renew their spirit, and, more important, there are ways for organization to change conditions that lead to burnout.