The research investigated expressions of, reasons, implications and coping strategies for burnout according to twenty-three Arab ethnic-national minority social workers in Arab welfare bureaus in Israel. Interview data indicated that burnout is expressed in somatisation and interpersonal behaviours with clients and colleagues. As in Arab culture, personal emotional suffering is not mentioned. Micro- and meso-level factors were ignored. Macro-level dependence on the establishment includes professional training and government policies inappropriate for the Arab population’s unique needs. Interviewees mentioned only minor consequences, ensuring their continued employment. They rationalised and universalised burnout as normative, sufficing with indirect coping strategies, for example social events.