The idea of burnout at work has been with us for decades. But recently, executive coaches and business psychologists have started talking about "brownout", which is a sort of junior sibling. Staff affected by brownout become disengaged, demotivated and lose interest in their jobs.

职业倦怠这个概念已经伴随我们几十年了。不过最近，主管培训师和商务心理学家们开始讨论“动力减退”，这似乎是职业倦怠的初级阶段。受“动力减退”影响的员工会变得工作不投入，没有动力，对工作失去兴趣。

 

As the name suggests, brownout is not as serious as burnout, but it is much more prevalent. Brownout can be fairly mild and is usually reversible, but in the long term can cause serious problems.

从名字可以看出来，“动力减退”没有“倦怠”那么严重，但是，在员工中更加普遍。“动力减退”的症状表现相对温和，而且通常是可逆的，但是从长期来看，可能会导致严重问题。

 

The more usual symptoms of brownout tend to be disengagement, discontent, and lethargy. You’ll turn up for work (and may even put in very long hours) but your heart isn’t in it. You’re not interested in new ideas, you’re not proactive and you’re less communicative and sociable. You’ll use any excuse to not show up. A cold becomes flu.

“动力减退”常见的症状有：工作不投入、不满意，没有精神。你会照常在单位出现（而且可能下班了也不走）但你的心已经不在那里了。你对新的想法没有兴趣，你不会积极主动，不愿意交流和社交。你会找任何借口请假。普通的感冒变成了流感。