Burnout in the Manufacturing Industry: A Psychosocial Threat Often Overlooked

Amidst the clamour of production targets and the incessant hum of machinery, something is slowly eroding the health of industrial workers — not physical injury, not workplace accidents, but a fatigue that gnaws from within. This condition is known as burnout. Burnout is not merely ordinary tiredness after a day’s work. Maslach and Leiter (2016) define it as a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from long-term involvement in demanding work situations. This condition develops slowly, often unnoticed, until it ultimately disrupts an individual’s ability to function both as a worker and as a person. How serious is this threat? Global data speaks volumes. The SHRM 2025 Insights: Workplace Mental Health report reveals a worrying fact — more than 52 percent of employees reported experiencing burnout or chronic work fatigue, while four in ten workers stated that their job had a negative impact on their mental health (SHRM, 2025). This figure far exceeds Gallup’s 2019 data, which recorded that 76 percent of workers had experienced burnout at least once, indicating that the condition is not improving but rather worsening year on year (Gallup, 2019). At a regional level, the situation is no better. A Naluri study involving workers from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines revealed that 63 percent of workers in Southeast Asia experience burnout (Naluri, 2025). More specifically in Indonesia, the 2025 Workplace Wellbeing Score survey recorded that the mental wellbeing level of Indonesian workers remains below the global average, at only 50.98 percent compared to 58.62 percent (Workplace Wellbeing Score Indonesia, 2025). Clinically, burnout is not just ‘ordinary stress’. Maslach and Jackson (1981) identified three main dimensions. The first is emotional exhaustion, a feeling of being emotionally drained and having no energy to face the next working day. The second is depersonalisation, the emergence of cynical, cold, and uncaring attitudes towards one’s job and colleagues. The third is a reduced sense of personal accomplishment, a feeling of incompetence and meaninglessness in the work one does. These three dimensions do not appear overnight. Burnout is an accumulative process that develops when job demands continuously exceed an individual’s capacity without adequate recovery time. Freudenberger (1974), who first introduced the term, stressed that individuals working under high pressure with minimal appreciation are the most vulnerable group. The impact of burnout cannot be underestimated. Schaufeli and Enzmann (1998) identified that burnout directly leads to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and high employee turnover. For the individual, untreated burnout can develop into more serious health disorders such as depression and anxiety, conditions that further impair a worker’s ability to function optimally. In the context of a continuously operating manufacturing industry, these impacts are multiplied. Workers experiencing burnout suffer from reduced concentration and decision-making ability, two factors that are crucial when overseeing production processes involving hazardous chemicals and high-pressure systems. Burnout is not a fate that industrial workers must simply accept. There are concrete steps that can be taken by both companies and workers themselves. For companies, periodically evaluating workloads using standardised instruments is an important first step. Implementing job rotation systems for monotonous and high-concentration tasks has also proven effective in distributing workloads more evenly. Equally important, companies need to provide confidential counselling services so that workers feel safe to disclose their psychological condition without fear of negative judgement. For workers, self-awareness is key. Recognising early symptoms of burnout, such as fatigue that does not subside despite rest, emerging cynicism towards work, or feelings of worthlessness, is a crucial first step before the condition worsens. Maintaining a balance between work and personal life, and not hesitating to seek professional help when needed, is a form of responsibility for one’s own health. It is time for burnout to be included in the Occupational Health and Safety agenda. Within the framework of Occupational Safety and Health, psychosocial risks such as burnout should receive equal attention to physical risks. Government Regulation Number 50 of 2012 concerning the Implementation of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System mandates comprehensive protection for worker safety and health, and mental health is an inseparable part of that mandate. It is time for companies, especially in the manufacturing sector with continuous operations, to not only be preoccupied with chasing production targets but also to ensure that their workers are present wholly — not just physically, but mentally as well. Because a mentally healthy worker is not only more productive but also safer.