This article describes how experiences of professional burnout and difficulty in the job are linked to people’s expectations concerning the outcomes they aim to realize. Based on a random sample of respondents to a burnout questionnaire, two groups of special educators were interviewed. The interview data are interpreted taking Lacanian psychoanalytic theory about how people deal with their subjective lack as a point of departure. We conclude that burnt out people can be characterized by their imaginary stance towards outcomes (they cherish clear images of the products of their efforts, feel powerless, tend to fuse with the other, have the impression that the other is taking advantage of them and feel unable to speak freely). By contrast, the group with a low burnout score can be typified by their symbolic distance towards their job experiences and outcomes (they support the other in the process of realizing outcomes, feel impossibility, react with creativity and speak freely).
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