The Phenomenon of Burnout as an Imbalance in the Person-workperformance Relationship: Historical-conceptual Framing

Journal title QUADERNI DI ECONOMIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Azio Barani
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2022/116
Language Italian Pages 10 P. 87-96 File size 83 KB
DOI 10.3280/QUA2022-116005
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In recent decades, burnout has become a pervasive syndrome in helping professions, but understanding its origins requires viewing it as a structural imbalance among the person, their work, and performance demands. This article offers an interdisciplinary framework combining psychology, sociology, organizational theory, and philosophy to examine how performance pressure, recognition logic, organizational structure, and work relationships erode personal well-being. Drawing on recent empirical evidence – including the Effort-Reward Imbalance model, the Job Demands-Resources theory, and burnout measurement research – as well as philosophical perspectives from communitarian personalism and relational sociology, the article proposes ethical and sustainable prevention and management strategies, particularly for Third Sector organizations.

Keywords: Burnout; Performance; ERI model; JD-R; Person-oriented; Communitarian personalism; Nonprofit.

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Azio Barani, Il fenomeno del burnout come disequilibrio del rapporto persona-lavoro-prestazione: inquadramento storicoconcettuale in "QUADERNI DI ECONOMIA DEL LAVORO" 116/2022, pp 87-96, DOI: 10.3280/QUA2022-116005