I understand that customer service reps do a hard, yet important job. However, calling them "heroes" is a little too much kool-aid for me. It reminds me of every startup claiming that "this changes everything".
What's interesting to me about this podcast was the suggestion that the solution to burnout is not less work or taking a break, but getting appreciation for the work you put in. Burnout seems to not be really about the work involved but the appreciation you get for doing that job and whether you feel your job is making a difference.
While working 80-hour weeks at a startup, our boss would walk by in the evening and say, "go home". I never knew if he was serious or not. We never went home.<p>(A different kind of burnout vs. call center burnout)