Emotional Exhaustion
Updated 2026-08-01
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Emotional exhaustion is one of the three dimensions of burnout in Christina Maslach's model, alongside depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. It is defined as the feeling of being emotionally overextended and depleted by one's work, arising when prolonged occupational demands exceed the individual's recovery capacity. It is the dimension most consistently linked to workload and to adverse health outcomes. The key qualification is that exhaustion is a response to sustained demand rather than a personal deficit, and it can occur without the other two dimensions.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Early signal watch: track flattening affect and mounting dread before performance visibly drops. - Demand-resource audit: compare workload against recovery time, autonomy, and available support. - Boundary setting: name which demands can be reduced or deferred rather than absorbed.
Anchor fast decisions
Emotional and cognitive resources are finite and are depleted by sustained demands, with recovery occurring only when demands pause. When demands stay above the recovery rate, the deficit compounds, and the system protects itself by withdrawing engagement, which appears as cynicism and distance. The withdrawal reduces immediate strain but also removes the rewards that would replenish resources, so the deficit deepens unless the demand structure changes.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_exhaustionverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS