Differentiate burnout from depression

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First we can see that burnout is conceptually different than depression because it is usually associated with work environments as compared to depression that generalizes across many situations. Second, upon closer inspection, note that there is more complexity in the clinical syndrome of depression than burnout since depression includes a wide range of symptoms not typically associated with burnout such as suicidal ideation, anhedonia (lack of pleasure), and significant weight loss (not due to dieting) or gain to name a few. Last, the research indicates that although burnout and clinical depression are moderately correlated, sharing around 26% of their variance, they are also distinct constructs, with cynicism and reduced efficacy only weakly overlapping with depression (see Shirom, 2011, for discussion).

Upon reaching advanced stages of burnout, persons may ultimately develop symptoms of depression if their general coping strategies fail, but advanced burnout states do not necessarily lead to depression. Instead, advanced burnout could lead to a hardening of one's cynical detached perspective toward clients or customers, that is, to the development of a dehumanizing outlook toward them. Such a hardened outlook could co-exist with depression or stand alone as a symptom independent of depression (Shirom, 2011).