“I was working non-stop, without stopping. I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping. I was in constant pain all over. I cried a lot. I was fainting at work.” lists Julie (name changed), 28 years old. "The signs were there, but I didn't recognize them." explains this civil servant in French Guiana. When the occupational physician tells her that she is in burnout and must be put on leave, Julie feels "a lot of guilt" and struggles to accept the situation.
Although burnout, defined as physical and emotional exhaustion, a negative view of others and of work, and a feeling of ineffectiveness or loss of meaning, affects many men and even more women, the figures remain incomplete. According to Public Health France, 5.91% of women and 2.71% of men experienced work-related psychological distress in 2019, twice as many as in 2007, but these figures do not specifically measure professional exhaustion.
Burnout is poorly understood and is treated very differently by healthcare professionals.
Considered a syndrome or psychosocial risk rather than a disease, burnout is not listed in the Social Security tables of occupational illnesses, which complicates its recognition as such. The employee must prove that their condition is caused by their work and that it results in a permanent disability of at least 25%.
Recognition sometimes comes through classification, after an acute crisis, as a work-related accident. A recent report from the French National Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie) noted that mental health conditions recognized as occupational diseases more than doubled between 2020 and 2024, but totaled only 1,805. Nearly two-thirds of the applications for recognition in 2024 came from women.
Burnout is poorly recognized and is treated very differently by healthcare professionals. "This pathology of collective violence in the workplace is handled in a rather haphazard way by Social Security." Who "doesn't want it", says psychologist Marie Pezé, who initiated the Suffering and Work network, which brings together some 200 specialized consultations.
Burnout, which has both psychological and somatic aspects (cognitive disorders, etc.), is "very complex to manage"she emphasizes. Besides, often, psychotherapy, treatment requires... "Specialists in new work organizations, social security law and labor law"The French National Authority for Health (HAS) recommends that the attending physician coordinate care, in conjunction with the occupational physician.
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"We've been abandoned in the wilderness."
Solène, a nurse in Toulouse, found herself "paralyzed in (her) bed" Following an excessive workload combined with a situation of workplace harassment, and after a diagnosis of burnout by her general practitioner, she consulted a psychiatrist.
"I received very poor care because I wasn't treated at a clinic specializing in burnout.", explains this woman in her forties, regretting having "I was treated like a depressed person." "There's a lack of support structures just for listening to people with this condition."
Solène said she had been "saved" by a "exceptional psychologist" and EMDR sessions (a psychotherapy that uses eye movements). According to Brigitte Vaudolon, vice-president of the Federation of Psychosocial Risk Interventionists, "What works is multidisciplinary support, where the person can rebuild themselves psychologically, but also rethink their professional trajectory."
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But not all burnout victims are lucky enough to find professionals who work well together. "We've been abandoned in the wilderness."", sighs Catherine. A middle school teacher in the North, she reports having contacted "about twenty" doctors to get approval for a therapeutic part-time work arrangement after her burnout.
Working in the banking sector in Loire-Atlantique, Anne-Marie, for her part, focused on the "alternative medicine" (sophrology, kinesiology…) to treat her burnout because she had " the means "She also emphasizes the importance of the "collective" to overcome this ordeal. Within a support group, "We work on self-esteem, self-confidence, (...) limiting beliefs, and how others see us."she notes.
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