4 Cultural Factors That Contribute to Our Epidemic of Burnout

Technology

One of the biggest factors of modern culture that causes burnout is technology. Some of us sit in front of screens all day and then, even when not at our desks, we continue to engage with technology. I don’t think anyone has fully calculated the impact of our almost incessant interaction with technology on the human brain. With this constant stimulation, the brain is not getting time to rest. We’re at a traffic light, or we’re in line at a store, but we don’t pause and do nothing—we fill that time with more information and data. It's very damaging in the long term.

Financial Stress

Secondly, many families feel financial pressure. They have huge debt from college, and health care costs, and saving for retirement. This is pressurizing a lot of families. Many people find themselves in financially difficult situations, and they live beyond their means. It creates workaholism and a lack of down time.

A Sedentary Lifestyle

A third impact of our culture is that many men are engaged in knowledge work—sitting all day, not getting the body exercised, and not getting oxygen flowing or the right chemicals working. Nobody notices those effects over a day, but it affects the body over many months or years.

Reset

David Murray

Although burnout is growing increasingly common among men in ministry, it doesn’t have to be inevitable. Pastor and counselor David Murray offers men gospel-centered hope for avoiding and recovering from burnout, setting a more sustainable pace.

Our Sad Cultural Moment

And finally, we’re living in a sad time in our culture. There is a good deal of sad news, especially for Christians. We’re seeing the disintegration of our country and our culture. That has a very depressing effect and creates a lot of anxiety for ourselves and our families.

So a lot of factors come together to crush a man and weigh him down until he eventually breaks.

To learn more about the epidemic of burnout, and how the Bible presents solutions, check out this informative infographic.

David Murray (PhD, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) has pastored four churches in Scotland and the USA. He is also a counselor, a regular speaker at conferences, and the author of several books, including Reset and Exploring the Bible. David has taught Old Testament, counseling, and pastoral theology at various seminaries.