The World Health Organization (WHO) has for the first time recognized “burn-out” in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), a benchmark for health diagnosis.
The WHO has now classified burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
“It is characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”
“Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life,” according to the classification.
@WHO has for the first time recognized “burn-out” in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
Source: https://t.co/tPuaRdyNvS pic.twitter.com/QzK77NYVqR— World Medical Association (@medwma) May 28, 2019
The international body reached the decision to categorize burnout as a medical condition during its recently concluded World Health Assembly in Geneva.
Following recommendations from health experts around the world, the updated ICD list was drafted in 2018 and was approved on Saturday.
The ICD-11takes effect in January 2022.
