Burnout Syndrome and Lacanian Psychoanalysis: Cultural and Clinical Aspects in Czech Society

Abstract

Burnout syndrome is currently one of the key phenomena of modern work culture. Although it is commonly examined within the frameworks of health and organizational psychology, the psychoanalytic approach—particularly the theory of Jacques Lacan—offers a deeper understanding of its structural dynamics. This article presents a Lacanian interpretation of burnout syndrome as a symptom of the subject's (le sujet) relationship to the symbolic order (l'ordre symbolique) and the Big Other (le Grand Autre). Burnout is here understood as a consequence of imaginary identification with the professional role, superegoic imperatives of endless jouissance (la jouissance), and the collapse of desire under the weight of unattainable expectations. Specific attention is paid to Czech society, where recent data from a representative study indicate a slightly declining trend in the prevalence of burnout syndrome over the past decade. This development is discussed within the Lacanian framework as a possible result of the subject's gradual cultural separation from the imperatives of the Big Other. The article connects psychoanalytic concepts with current developments in the Czech social and occupational context and emphasizes the importance of symbolic work with subjectivity as a path to understanding and preventing burnout syndrome.