Interventions to prevent and alleviate burnout

Burnout is a syndrome that develops in response to problematic relationships between employees and their workplaces. There are several ways to think about burnout interventions. Interventions designed to help individuals manage or cope with the worksite stressors are designated as secondary prevention, because their intent is to reduce the prevalence of stress. Addressing burnout includes both alleviating burnout when it arises and preventing it before it occurs. Alleviation interventions may also occur with individuals or workgroups experiencing levels of burnout that, although elevated, are not sufficiently severe to prevent them from working. Prevention strategies tend to focus on employees who are generally in good shape, and help them to not become at risk of burnout. Individual interventions to address burnout often focus on strengthening both physical and psychological resiliency. An approach to addressing burnout, especially within health care, has been mindfulness.