Burnout has become our go-to term for talking about the pressure and dissatisfaction we experience at work. But because we all have different definitions of burnout, the discourse does little to help workers who are suffering. Jonathan Malesic was one of those workers, and to escape he quit his job as a tenured professor. Malesic traces his own history with burnout to frame this rigorous investigation of how and why wo many of us feel worn out, alienated, and useless in our work. Through research on the science, culture, and philosophy of burnout, he explores the gap between our vocation and our jobs, and between the ideals we have for work and the reality of what we have to do. This book spotlights groups that are addressing these failures of ethics, including communities of monks, employees of a Dallas nonprofit, intense hobbyists, and artists with disabilities to highlight the possibilities for resisting a "total work" environment and the paths to recognizing the dignity of workers and nonworkers alike--Adapted from book jacket flap.