Purpose/Background:

Burnout syndrome as a disease, transcends the occupational, it also encompasses social, historical and individual factors. The purpose of this article is to thematize burnout as a bioethical issue that can be analyzed through the human condition described by Hannah Arendt; part of this thematization involves the unveiling of tensions that converge both conceptually and in the practical field of the evolution and diagnosis of the disease.

Methodology/Approach:

The methodological proposal is based on two moments, firstly, tools from hermeneutic phenomenology are used to analyze the translation and definition of burnout outlining its theoretical and practical repercussions. Secondly, a reading is made through Hannah Arendt's concepts of work and action and some of Ricardo Maliandi's theoretical contributions of ethics as a thematization of ethos, a bioethical thematization of burnout is then proposed in the light of the human condition and the levels of ethical reflection.

Results/Findings:

the results show the conflicting nature of the translation and the current definition of burnout, as well as the contradictory nature of managing stress in a labor market that requires people with the competences to work under pressure, without failing in the attempt to become ill as a result.

Discussion/Conclusions/Contributions:

A bioethical thematization of burnout is more than necessary, to expose problematically anesthetic translations and definitions; but also to unveil phenomena of normalization of discourses and practices of work under pressure, which can lead to the consequence of reducing, factually and theoretically, the active life to mere survival work, and this effort to survive can threaten survival itself.

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