WORKSHOP

 Burn Out for ZZP from a psychological and sociopolitical perspective​

​

In the Netherlands, 1 in 5 people are currently experiencing burnout symptoms. And yet, burnout is still largely treated as a personal problem, as something to fix with better habits, or a week off.

 

In this workshop, we took a different approach. Together with participants, we explored burnout from three interconnected levels: the philosophical and cultural moment we are living in, the structural and societal conditions that shape our working lives, and the personal story.  This particular approach to burnout is because  we think that each experience of exhaustion is singular and deserves to be understood in its own terms.

​

Drawing on thinkers like Byung-Chul Han, whose work on achievement society helps us understand how self-exploitation can feel like freedom, and on research about precarious work, identity, and care, we looked at burnout not only as a psychological syndrome but as a deeply rooted psychosocial and political phenomenon.

​

We also made space for the questions that don't have easy answers: When did you learn you couldn't say no? How close is your identity to the work you do? What is your body trying to tell you?

​

There is no magic recipe. What works for one person can add pressure to another. But there is something valuable in having a space to speak freely  without rushing toward diagnosis, goals, or recovery timelines. In times of urgency, holding and processing matters too.

​

This workshop was facilitated as part of the work of Emilia Larraechea, in collaboration with Clem Mondot, at The Humanities Lab, of the University of Amsterdam.