Reflections on the study of burnout

Four papers on burnout appear in this issue of Work & Stress. This commentary gives an indication of how they add to the pool of knowledge regarding the prevalence of burnout and its chronic nature. A lapse common to most papers on this subject is then discussed: the lack of attention to burnout's relationships with other negative affective states, primarily depression. Finally, some of the major similarities and differences among various measures of burnout represented in this special edition are discussed. The concluding comment addresses future theoretical challenges to burnout researchers.