Formerly poorly identified, or sometimes deliberately hidden, burnout is now fairly well defined. The latter refers to mental suffering and discomfort due to stress at work that can also be described as extreme overwork with all the negative consequences that this can have on physical and mental health. Poor working conditions can also be the cause of burnout. It is estimated today in France that more than 3 million people in employment are exposed to a risk of burnout, including seniors close to retirement. Older seniors are also concerned, in particular caregivers who, on a daily basis, take care of a dependent relative.
We speak of burn-out to designate a state of intense fatigue and great distress caused by stress at work. This is why burnout is also called professional exhaustion syndrome.
Burnout refers to a set of disorders that affect mental health and which result in strong anxiety, even depression. Burnout can also manifest itself in symptoms such as irritability, anger, lack of energy, insomnia, a state of anxiety or sadness, but which can also be physical such as stomach aches. , hard-to-treat colds, etc.
Due to the constant exposure to stress in one's professional activity, this syndrome is most common in professions with high emotional and affective demands, among workers who have to face great responsibilities or whose work objectives are very difficult. to achieve.
From a general point of view, burnout is seen more in people who invest a lot in their work, people who are logically more exposed to the risk of burnout.
Health professionals are also particularly exposed to stress at work, but also to a high intensity of work pace, which the health crisis due to Covid-19 has further exacerbated, situations conducive to burnout.
It should also be noted that, according to the Ministry of Labour, if we consider all workers, all fields of activity combined, the risk of depression among them has doubled compared to 2019, due to the health crisis and their often degraded working conditions in this particular environment.
Some populations are more exposed than others to the risk of burnout. Women first, but also seniors from the age of 45, especially men of that age. They are almost ten times more likely than a man under 25 to suffer from this burnout syndrome.
In France, more than 60% of 50-64 year olds are employed. Like the rest of the population, these seniors are not immune to being affected by burnout, even at the end of their career. A moment in professional life when, if some seniors "let go", become demotivated and disengage from their work when they retire, others, on the contrary, will "kill themselves at work", do everything to satisfy their employer, sometimes too much, at the risk of becoming professionally exhausted and suffering from burn-out.
Even if this category of seniors still in employment is not the only one, and far from it, to be affected by suffering at work, a large number of senior executives are in this situation, but also people who work in the field of health and personal care for example.
Employed seniors close to retirement are also more prone to burnout, which can be due in particular to the feeling of insecurity with regard to their future, the drop in their future income, etc.
Burn-out, this syndrome of professional exhaustion, even if it was originally described exclusively in the world of work, is now found more and more among seniors who no longer have any activity. professional as such, but who have to take care of a dependent loved one on a daily basis, often their spouse or their parents.
Today in France there are around 11 million people in this situation (those called caregivers) who provide regular help to a person over the age of 60. Nearly 60% of these caregivers are women. Among all caregivers, 47% report experiencing at least one negative consequence of helping a dependent elderly relative on their physical or moral health according to figures published by the Ministry of Health.
These caregivers can indeed also suffer from burnout. Their very demanding role alongside a loved one with a loss of autonomy has the consequence that they also often suffer from very intense physical or psychological fatigue, especially since they are most of the time isolated, without a environment that can support and help them as can be the case in the workplace.
As the Psycom website, the health cooperation group (GCS) points out, "daily support for many years can be difficult for family caregivers, who over time become real caregivers. Their "burden" is physical, psychological and social. There is a risk of physical and mental exhaustion, particularly among older family carers".
