As burnout affects many of us directly or indirectly through colleagues and loved ones, it’s a topic we should discuss more openly. At the same time, it’s a challenging topic. It’s an emotional one. If we have been there or seen someone close to us suffering, we have, rightly, our explanations for why it happened.
The problem with burnout is that the discussion is polarized. Some people say it’s the individual's fault who just couldn’t set boundaries. Others solely blame the relentless company culture and poor management. We think it’s never either-or: both the individual and the surrounding work are interactively at play.
Everyone can burn out if the stress load is too high for too long.
Burnout is the result of chronic stress not being managed successfully. High stress levels going on for too long are a real threat. Both the individual and the company should take them very seriously. Anyone can burn out if the stress load is too high for too long.
We must pay attention to what causes excessive stress: what in our work culture, leadership philosophy, practices, and processes cause strain at work. Have we managed to build a space of psychological safety where everyone can speak up about their worries and uncertainties and ask for support early on?
We need to develop our self-awareness and practice self-management skills to build healthy habits, recover, and enjoy our lives outside of work. We must also develop our social and emotional skills to not strain our team members or colleagues.
These skills apply to everyone in the organization, from the executives to the grassroots. Are the employees supported to develop self-leadership skills, and is our culture feeding healthy recovery habits with its example?
We all leave a mark on the working culture surrounding us. With careful observation, shared goals, and action, we can shape it to suit our needs better.
When discussing structural problems, remember that we, people, are those structures. I might mistreat others if I don’t know how to regulate my emotions and care for myself. That makes me a crack in the structure, causing pain for others.We all leave a mark on the working culture surrounding us. With careful observation, shared goals, and action, we can shape it to suit our needs better.
Let’s face it: we're human — we're not perfect. We can’t always be the best versions of ourselves. That’s not sustainable. Sometimes we just need to be able to come to work in a lousy mood after a bad night’s sleep and just be ourselves.
At the same time, we need to understand how our habits, actions, and social and emotional behavior affect everyone around us every hour and every day, either fueling burnout or extinguishing it.
That said, I’m more empathetic, patient, motivated, and focused if I have slept well and managed my recovery, right? How I take care of myself affects how I treat others. Emotions are extremely contagious.
In the next chapter, we dive deeper into burnout from the individual’s perspective.
In the first chapter we learned that...
Burnout affects many people and can lead to serious health risks.
Burnout has a high cost: decreased productivity, lower ability to concentrate, and increased sick leaves.
Burnout is a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed, characterized by energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one's job, and reduced professional efficacy or decreased professional self-esteem.
Everyone can burn out if the stress load is too high for too long. We must consider what causes excessive stress, including the work culture, leadership philosophy, practices, and processes.
We need to develop self-awareness and practice self-management skills, develop our social and emotional skills, and shape the work culture to better suit our needs. Every single employee has an impact on the culture.
In the end, we should focus on building resilience against burnout and prevent it rather than treating it.