CHAPTER 20

One in Five Highly Engaged Employees Is at Risk of Burnout

by Emma Seppala and Julia Moeller

Dorothea loved her new workplace and was highly motivated to perform. Her managers were delighted with her high engagement, professionalism, and dedication. She worked long hours to ensure that her staff was properly managed, that her deadlines were met, and that her team’s work was nothing short of outstanding. In the first two months, she single-handedly organized a large conference—marketing and organizing all the details of the conference and filling it to capacity. It was a remarkable feat.

In the last weeks prior to the event, however, she was so stressed out that she couldn’t sleep and began to feel physically and emotionally exhausted ...

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