Zusammenfassung
Ziel der Studie: Zu untersuchen, ob der Begriff „Burnout“ in Deutschland populärer ist als in anderen
Ländern.
Methode: Es werden die Ergebnisse von 4 Bevölkerungsumfragen verglichen, die zwischen 2009
und 2012 in Deutschland, Frankreich, Italien und Österreich durchgeführt wurden.
Ergebnisse: Während in Deutschland und in Österreich gut 10 % der Befragten in depressiven Symptomen
einen Fall von „Burnout“ erkannten, war dies in Frankreich bei nur 2 % und in Italien
nie der Fall.
Schlussfolgerung: Der Begriff „Burnout“ erfreut sich in Deutschland und in Österreich besonderer Beliebtheit.
Abstract
Objective: To examine whether the term “burnout” is particularly popular in Germany.
Methods: Results from four representative population surveys on public beliefs and attitudes
about mental disorders, which have been conducted in Germany, Austria, France, and
Italy between 2009 and 2012, are compared. In all surveys, respondents had been presented
with a case-vignette depicting someone suffering from a moderate depressive episode.
Following that, they were asked how they would call the condition described in the
case-vignette.
Results: While in Germany and Austria over 10 % of respondents labeled the depressive symptoms
as “burnout”, in France only 2 % and in Italy not a single respondent used this “diagnosis”.
In Germany, another 9.5 % employed the German equivalent to the English term “burned
out” or expressions like “exhausted” or “overworked” whereas in the other countries
hardly anybody used those words.
Conclusion: Obviously the term “burnout” enjoys greater popularity in Germany and Austria than
in France and Italy. Apart from linguistic and stigma-related aspects, this may be
explained by differences in the perception of current work conditions in the various
countries.
Schlüsselwörter
Burnout - Depression - Bevölkerungsumfrage - interkultureller Vergleich
Keywords
burnout - depression - population survey - cross-cultural comparison
