From Burnout to Betrayal: How Transactional Business Models Cause Moral Injury

In today's demanding professional landscape, mental health challenges like burnout, anxiety, and even more severe issues such as addiction and suicide are on the rise. But what if burnout isn’t the right diagnosis? In this keynote presentation, we explore a different explanation: moral injury. Inspired by Dr. Wendy Dean’s groundbreaking work, we delve into how a conflict between personal ethics and the demands of modern business can result in moral injury, often mischaracterized as burnout. While burnout focuses on exhaustion and disengagement, moral injury centers on the pain of being unable to live up to your professional ideals due to the systemic limitations of fee-for-service business models. Learn how these insights apply beyond healthcare, offering valuable lessons for accountants and bookkeepers, whose ethical and professional responsibilities may also be at odds with business model constraints.

Key Takeaways

• Understand why moral injury may be a more accurate diagnosis than burnout for many professionals.

• Explore how systemic pressures can erode personal values and contribute to moral distress.

• Discover why traditional burnout remedies like meditation and mindfulness may not address the deeper issues.