The Roots of America’s "Burnout Culture"

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2022

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With historic numbers of people quitting their jobs, there’s no question that American workers are fried and fed-up. But according to author Jonathan Malesic the country’s burnout crisis goes much deeper than the pandemic. A former college professor, he’s the author of a new book "The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives." He joins us to talk about the history of Americans’ dysfunctional relationship with work and how to fix what he calls our "burnout culture." But first, we check in with Riverside County Congressman Mark Takano, the author of a bill that would create a 32-hour workweek. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Support for KQED Podcasts comes from Landmark College, commemorating 40 years of educating people who learn differently, with programs on campus and online for both students and professionals.
0:12.0	Learn more at landmark.edu.
0:14.7	Switch to Comcast Business Mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill.
0:18.8	Comcast Business, powering possibilities. Restrictions apply. Comcast business powering possibilities.
0:21.4	Restrictions apply.
0:22.1	Comcast business internet required.
0:23.4	Compar's two unlimited intro lines and lowest price 5D plans of top three carriers.
0:26.4	Tax on fees extra, reduced speeds after 30 gigabytes of usage.
0:28.8	Data thresholds may vary.
0:31.1	From KQED.
0:34.4	Don't give up.
0:37.1	From KQED Public Radio in San Francisco, I'm Priya David Clemens in today for Mina Kim.
0:43.5	When he was working as a college professor, author Jonathan Malesc says he listened to this Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush duet, over and and over trying to overcome his work burnout.
0:56.7	The experience led him to try and understand what he calls America's burnout culture.
1:02.0	He joins us to talk about his new book, The End of Burnout, Why Work Drains Us, and How to Build
1:08.1	Better Lives.
1:09.5	But first, Riverside County Congress member Mark Ticano on his bill to create a 32-hour work week.
1:16.9	That's next after this. This is Don't give up.
1:31.3	Please don't give up.
1:37.3	This is Forum. I'm Priya David Clemens in today for Mina Kim. Last month, the Congressional Progressive Caucus endorsed a bill by California representative, Mark Takano, that would create a 32-hour work week.
1:47.3	The legislation doesn't prevent people from working more than 32 hours, but it would require
1:52.2	overtime pay for those working beyond that threshold. Supporters say a shorter week would lead to
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.