Freudenberger and the Origins of Burnout (1974)

burnout · Staff Burn-Out, Journal of Social Issues (1974); Burn-Out: The High Cost of High Achievement, Anchor Press/Doubleday (1980) · 1974

Freudenberger introduced "burnout" to the research lexicon in 1974, after watching volunteers at a free clinic in the East Village collapse into emotional depletion, cynicism, and loss of motivation. He framed it not as a stress response, but as a response to **frustration** and a **demand for perfectionism**.