Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest, coming immediately after an extended period of overwork. It is also used as an English slang term to mean exhaustion.

Computer programmers are often prone to burnout. See Death march for instance. However, research has shown that it is more likely to affect those in the care industries. Cordes and Doherty (1993), in their study of employees within this industry, found that workers who have frequent intense or emotionally charged interactions with others are more susceptible to burnout.

Students are also prone to burnout at the high school and college levels.

Burnout is also English slang for a habitual user of drugs.

See also: The poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay: "My candle burneth at both ends/It will not last the night."

References

Cordes, C. and Dougherty, T. (1993). A review and integration of research on job burnout. Academy of Management Review, 18, 621-656. Cited in O'Driscoll, M.P. and Cooper, C.L. (1996). Sources of Management of Excessive Job Stress and Burnout. In P. Warr (Ed.), Psychology at Work: Fourth Edition. Penguin.