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Glossary
The strain that arises when job demands persistently outstrip a worker's resources or control — the broader condition from which burnout can develop.
Occupational stress is the physical and psychological strain that arises when the demands of a job persistently exceed the resources, control, or support a worker has to meet them. Influential models frame it exactly this way: Karasek's demand-control model and the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model both describe strain as a mismatch between what the work requires and what the worker is given to cope with.
Some occupational stress is normal, and in short bursts even motivating. It becomes harmful when it's chronic and unmanaged — the condition under which it can progress into burnout, which the WHO defines specifically as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.