[The Typing Baker] Burnout Came to Me, Can I Overcome It Through 'Solidarity'?

[Photo by Medici Media]

‘Burnout’ is one of the words that has dominated our society in recent years. It is an English term meaning ‘exhaustion,’ referring to a situation where one loses passion and a sense of accomplishment for work due to extreme physical and mental fatigue while doing any task. In other words, it becomes like a locomotive that has lost its power and can no longer do anything.

Medical and academic discussions on this issue have also been ongoing. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified burnout as a ‘syndrome,’ and countries like Sweden recognize burnout as a disease eligible for paid sick leave and sickness benefits. Nevertheless, the author points out that "the discourse on burnout has been stagnating for 50 years," noting that public understanding has not significantly advanced, and scientific understanding remains stagnant as well.

The author emphasizes that to understand the current situation, a more precise term should be used, defining burnout as "the experience of struggling to bridge the gap between our ideals about work and the reality of our occupations." As the reality of work deteriorates while ideals grow larger, this gap has gradually widened, leading to the increasing spread of burnout.

Behind this perception lies a deeply ingrained sociocultural ‘noble lie’ that work is the source of dignity, personality, and purpose. The author criticizes the recent burnout craze by saying, "Most writings on this are frighteningly familiar," and points out that "our collective thinking is stuck in place."

Despite society driving humanity toward burnout through this lie, the issue is viewed not as a social problem but as an individual responsibility, suggesting that with just a little more effort, the situation can be changed. This approach "leaves the ethically and economically inhumane system, which is the original cause of burnout, intact."

[Image source=Pixabay]

However, the author accepts that individuals cannot solve the problem of burnout on their own. Of course, this does not mean accepting or normalizing it. The author proposes ‘solidarity’ as a solution.

He argues that the question we should be asking now is not "How do I prevent my own burnout?" but "How do I prevent your burnout?" Through collective efforts of solidarity, "if we acknowledge a common position where everyone is both a potential victim and a potential agent, we can end the pandemic of burnout."

Yet, the author’s final conclusion leaves some doubt as to whether this can truly be a solution. Viewing the COVID-19 pandemic as having brought a different way of life, the author believes that even without COVID-19, a labor revolution would have occurred through ‘automation’ via machines and artificial intelligence (AI). He presents a rosy future by saying, "Perhaps labor is fundamentally not that good," and "It might be better to leave all labor to robots and find ways to enjoy only the sweet fruits of labor."

But is such a future really possible? Like in ‘The Terminator’ or ‘Snowpiercer,’ might a future come where people are either ruled by machines or fall into ruin without even the chance to experience burnout because they cannot enjoy the fruits created by machines?

The author says, "Let’s leave burnout to the machines," adding, "Because we have better things to do," but such a future is rather frightening. Shouldn’t we be able to find happiness within labor, rather than avoiding it?

The End of Burnout | Written by Jonathan Malesic | Translated by Song Seombyeol | Medici Media | 352 pages | 23,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.