Are You Okay?
I have recently read a comment on the internet about the origin of reading week. It stated that the reading week is at the beginning of March because the suicidal rates of university students are high then. I am not sure whether this is true, but I know for sure a lot of students go through difficult times during those periods. One of the reason for their suffering could be ‘burnouts’. Universities demand a large amount of work from the students and it may have eventually caused them to just burnout. Therefore, I recommend the universities to provide opportunities for students to take a burnout test.
There are several kinds of burnout tests online, but the most renowned and commonly used burnout test is the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is a 22-item survey that composite of three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment. The test is known to have fair rates of reliability and validity, which supports the use of this scale to assess the students.
However, one of the critics with regards to the MBI or other burnout tests is that the symptoms used for the inventory are very similar to that of depression. For example, people who are burnt out and depressed both experience lack of motivation. The critics state that it is difficult to distinguish the two and doubt the concept of burnout itself.
It may be true that the symptoms of burnout resemble the symptoms of depression, but I do not think that should be a reason to prevent students from taking the test. Whether the student is burnt out or depressed, the test will indicate that the student needs help. More thorough testing can be done afterwards to specify the actual cause of the student’s current state. Identifying the students who need help seems more important than dealing with the specifics. Of course, finding the specific cause to accommodate the different needs is important as well. However, that can only be done once the need of help is identified.
In conclusion, despite the criticism of using the MBI or other burnout tests, I think the universities should consider administering them to students. Placing the reading week at the beginning of March may help the students but I also think it is important to detect the students who actually need help and help them as much as the university can.
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Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. Maslach burnout inventory.
