ABSTRACT
This chapter distinguishes four sets of theoretical approaches to burnout. Individual approaches emphasise the role of factors and processes within the person, whereas interpersonal approaches focus on demanding relationships with others at work. Organisational approaches emphasise the relevance of the organisational context, whilst societal approaches focus on the broader social and cultural dimensions of burnout. The work of Herbert Freudenberger, the founding father of the burnout syndrome, does not contain a coherent psychological explanation of burnout. As a practising psychiatrist, Freudenberger presents a wealth of case-material that illustrates his rather loosely formulated principles. Building on German action theory, Burisch proposed an approach to burnout in which disturbed action patterns played a key role. Action theory considers so-called action episodes as the basic units of analysis. The observation that burnout is related to the fit between job and personality type and not to lack of fit, is explained by a similar psychodynamic self-regulatory process.
