Come join us for our next WordSprouts event in partnership with the Old Stone House, featuring psychologist Irvin Schonfeld, PhD, MPH, Professor Emeritus at the City College of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center.
Irvin will present on his most recent book, Breaking Point: Job Stress, Occupational Depression and the Myth of Burnout (Wiley, 2025), co-authored with Renzo Bianchi, Professor of Psychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway. Irvin and Renzo take a subversive view of burnout.
WordSprouts is a long-running PSFC author series featuring Coop authors sharing their work and their creative process.
Our Next Event
Author: Irvin Schonfeld (PSFC member)
Genre: Nonfiction (Occupational Health Psychology)
When: Wednesday March 25, 2026 – doors open at 6:45 PM; the event begins at 7:00 PM.
Where: Old Stone House, 336 3rd Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Format: In-person only
Irvin and Renzo approach job-related burnout from an angle that is both skeptical and subversive. They co-developed and currently research the Occupational Depression Inventory, and examine the impact of job stressors on people who work (e.g., teachers, civil servants, etc.). They are particularly interested in burnout/depression overlap. Irvin described the research underlined in the book as delineating the impact of toxic working job conditions on depressive symptoms and how to address the problem.
Irvin’s early experience as a math teacher in the New York City public schools influenced his future studies, as he described, “I informally observed that the chaotic, and sometimes violent circumstances of my school had a baleful effect on many of my teacher colleagues, particularly women teachers. These observations contributed to a future line of research I would not have anticipated at the time I was a teacher.”
Irvin has been a Coop member since 1978. His favorite item from the Coop is Le Petit Ecolier European Milk Chocolate Cookies. Now retired from the Coop, Irvin’s favorite work shift was the early morning FTOP shift when he and his coworkers put out the produce and took the excess to the CHIPS soup kitchen.
Irvin’s presentation will be followed by an audience question period. Drinks and snacks will be provided courtesy of the Coop.
Irvin will be available to sign copies of Breaking Point: Job Stress, Occupational Depression and the Myth of Burnout (Wiley, 2025), and will have copies available to sell.
Copies can be ordered from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or from the book’s publisher John Wiley & Sons.
To get updates about WordSprouts events, check the Linewaiters’ Gazette and sign up for the mailing list at psfcwordsprouts@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Instagram at @foodcoopwordsprouts.
The WordSprouts committee includes committee leader Sarah Schenck and committee members Susan Horwich, Ruthie Nachmany, and Tamar Nachmany.