Burnout is a WE problem
Burnout at work is a we problem, not a you problem, an organizational collective problem, not an individual problem.
First let’s define burnout: physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress and includes physical, emotional and mental exhaustion.
Burnout is caused by excessive or prolonged stress — no matter how passionate people are about their work they can still experience burnout.
What’s the difference between burnout and stress in simple terms?
Stress feels like too much is being asked of you — too much pressure, too many things to do, too many deadlines, too many demands, you may feel like everything is closing in because there’s too many demands on you.
Burnout feels like you don’t have enough to give —like the well from which you normally give has dried up and you’re not able motivate yourself, to be creative, to be productive, you don’t have enough emotional or physical strengths to show up anymore.
Stress = too much — Burnout = not enough
Common signs of burnout:
- Lack of motivation and ability to focus
- Increased negative emotions (irritability, anger, anxiety)
- Feeling exhausted & not having enough energy
- You find yourself less satisfied, you don’t enjoy work you used to
- Work stress is interfering with your life outside of work — activities & personal relationships
- You can’t seem to stop thinking about your work or “turn your work brain off”
- You don’t prioritize yourself as much as you used to
- You’ve developed coping mechanism that help you “escape” like alcohol and drugs
- Insomnia and sleep exhaustion
- You feel disconnection from others & have a feeling of hopelessness
Burnout requires a collective solution
On the surface the definition and signs of burnout point to an individual problem with individual solutions, but I see burnout as a symptom of the actual problem — an imbalanced and poorly thought out employee experience.
Focusing on burnout at work — addressing this issue requires a community response from both the organization, leadership and the individual.
In my work (introducing mindfulness principles into organizational wellness and people strategies) I often collaborate with leaders who want to address burnout at work through wellness workshops, mindfulness experiences and retreats, and while all these are great and do address self awareness, stress, anxiety and burnout — organizational values, practices, and how work gets done every day also have to be addressed.
Let me explain…
Employee A is burnt out because someone on their team left six months ago and they acquired extra work from them. So for the past six months they’ve been doing the work of two people and are now starting to feel burnt out.
Yes I can help employee A reduce stress through giving them strategies and techniques to help them eliminate distractions, focus more, be more in-tune with their body, emotional resilience etc.
But if they’re still doing the work of two people, it’s still too much work for one person no matter how well they learn to manage stress. The structure in which they work is flawed.
So mindfulness and wellness strategies can help at an individual level with self-awareness and self-care but burnout is an organization level problem and it requires organizational and leadership action.
I ask leaders to consider these 5 questions:
- What behavior is the leadership team modeling?
- What work expectations are not being directly communicated but implied?
- When and why do people get rewarded at work?
- How might the leadership team (including managers) be contributing to a burnout culture?
- What do you value and how does it show up in everyday work life?
The world of work is changing and organizations and leaders have to change along with it. Prioritizing mental wellness goes hand in hand with prioritizing values and how work is done.
Aura Telman is the Founder of 13thrive. A mindfulness consulting firm helping leaders build community at work & lead with clarity through mindfulness principles.
