View article

Aim.  This paper reports a study to illuminate the complex interaction between person and their life world during the burnout development period.

Background.  Burnout is a construct describing the psychological state resulting from ineffective strategies for coping with enduring stress in both client and non‐client work. Role conflict and role ambiguity, or long‐term stress and frustration caused by strain in daily life, promote or exacerbate burnout, indicating that the person's entire life world is involved. There is still a lack of description of lived experiences of the time preceding manifest burnout.

Method.  Data were collected from interviews with eight people suffering from burnout and analysed using a phenomenological method.

Findings.  The essential meaning of the phenomenon of burnout is understood as being trapped with stimulating challenges as a self‐nourishing drive on one side and with responsibilities …