Topic 2: Differentiating Compassion Fatigue from Burnout

While compassion fatigue and burnout share some similarities, they are distinct concepts. Burnout typically results from work-related stress, such as high workload and lack of resources, whereas compassion fatigue is emotionally driven, arising from prolonged exposure to others’ trauma.

Key Differences:

• Burnout is related to job-related stress, inefficiencies, and high demands. 

• Compassion fatigue stems from emotional exhaustion due to empathy overload. 

Feature	Burnout	Compassion Fatigue
Cause	High workload, job-related stress	Prolonged exposure to others’ trauma
Symptoms	Frustration, cynicism, disengagement	Emotional exhaustion, decreased empathy
Impact	Affects job performance and motivation	Affects emotional well-being and empathy
Solution	Adjust workload, improve workplace conditions	Emotional self-care, boundaries, supervision