From Overwork to Burnout: Measuring and Managing Fatigue

Elizabeth Stephens presents new research on the cultural history of fatigue, from nineteenth-century overwork to modern burnout, in a free hybrid talk.

Elizabeth Stephens, Associate Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Queensland and founder of the Australasian Health and Medical Humanities Network, shares early insights from her ARC-funded project on the cultural history of fatigue. The talk traces how nineteenth-century ideas of fatigue as cumulative overstrain from industrial, educational and domestic regimes transformed into today's individualised, manageable concept of burnout. Attendees are invited to contribute their own workplace experiences to help shape the research. The event runs 90 minutes and is hybrid, with a virtual link shared on the day.