Creating Life Balance to Reduce Burnout through Buddhist Psychology

Abstract

This academic article aims to present the problem of burnout among sales personnel in Thailand’s industrial sector, analyze and synthesize the Five Spiritual Powers (Pañca Bala) within the framework of Buddhist psychology in relation to the Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) Theory, and propose work-life balance approaches for reducing burnout among sales employees. The analysis indicates that sales personnel experience high levels of occupational stress resulting from sales targets, customer rejection, and flexible working schedules that frequently extend into personal life. These factors contribute to cumulative physical and psychological exhaustion and increase the risk of burnout. The integration of the Five Spiritual Powers—faith (saddhā), effort (viriya), mindfulness (sati), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (paññā)—as presented in the Saṃyutta Nikāya, Mahāvagga, with the JD-R Theory suggests that these Buddhist principles function as important personal resources that help individuals cope with work-related demands. Mindfulness (sati-bala) promotes awareness of work-life boundary violations, wisdom (paññā-bala) facilitates the discernment of genuine priorities, concentration (samādhi-bala) reduces feelings of being overwhelmed, while faith (saddhā-bala) and effort (viriya-bala) help maintain motivation and psychological resilience. The article proposes a holistic approach to burnout prevention at three interconnected levels: the individual, team, and organizational levels. The integrated implementation of these three levels can contribute to reducing burnout, enhancing work performance, and sustainably improving the quality of life of sales personnel.