Maslach also found that avoiding burnout wasn’t just about working less. It had to do with a person’s outlook, and whether their organization rewarded their efforts. Perfectionists were particularly susceptible to burnout, for example, as were people who set unrealistically high goals for themselves. Workplaces where the goals were vague and projects were never completed tended to have more burned-out workers.54 In other words, when work seems like an endless, pointless slog, and workers have no sense of being recognized for all that they do, burnout is far more common.
