Burnout is a trendy topic; even articles about "Burnout is a trendy topic" have become fashionable. Nevertheless, burnout raises important contemporary diagnostic questions that renowned social scientists such as Ulrich Bröckling, Rolf Haubl, Sighard Neckel, and G. Günter Voss address in this volume: What is the relationship between the changing world of work and collective exhaustion? Is burnout an "invented" illness? What role do celebrities who have "come out" about their experiences play? And why does the image of the empty battery resonate so strongly?.