A Passion Deficit: Occupational Burnout and the New Librarian: A Recommendation Report

Burnout is about an employee’s relationship with their work (Harwell, 2013, n.p.). It involves a prolonged exposure to workplace stressors that often drain an employee’s vitality and enthusiasm, and lead to less engagement and productivity. Burnout increases turnover rates and absenteeism; causes decreased performance, workplace accidents and poor customer service; and sometimes leads to litigation. It also threatens the integrity and professionalism of an individual. Emotional labor—sometimes referred to as “emotion work” or “emotion management”—contributes heavily to the burnout factor by forcing an employee to control his or her feelings in order to fulfill the goals or expectations of an organization. The combination of job dissatisfaction and negative emotional labor can lead to occupational burnout, or a “passion deficit”