A few years ago, I experienced burnout. I had a grueling week at work (after too many already),with one particular day ending at 4 AM. After slogging through the entire week, I thought it would be a great idea to go out for dinner with friends. The dinner went well, even though it was after that particularly long working"day/night," and I was still operating on adrenaline. When I got home, I wanted to check my emails and to my astonishment, I realized that I couldn't read! It was as if my brain had forgotten how to do it. I panicked, had an anxiety attack, and then completely crashed. This was when I realized that something was indeed wrong with me: I had burnout.
Did I see it coming? Certainly, I noticed it was getting harder to focus. I would be doing a task, get distracted by a call, and then it would take time to understand where I had left off. I also found that making any decisions was excruciatingly painful. What do I want for breakfast? I don’t know and I don’t care; can someone decide for me? Do I want to have another coffee? I’m not sure... I was tired and stressed, but it seemed so normal at the time that it no longer set off any alarm bells.
Burnout is among the most significant on-the-job hazards facing workers today. It is also a catchy but confusing label and is among the most misunderstood. The World Health Organization characterizes burnout as an occupational phenomenon, something that is not a medical condition but impacts our health and well-being.According to the WHO, burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- Increased mental distance from one's job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
- Reduced professional efficacy
So, why does it happen? Once I could function more or less properly, I started researching burnout, its causes, and how I could overcome it (read: feel like myself again).
Burnout is caused by one thing: unrelenting chronic stress. This is the stress we face repeatedly and without an end in sight. When we experience enough of it over a prolonged period, it builds to the point of burnout.
We often think that burnout is about having a lot of work, but this is just one of the elements that leads to burnout. Christina Maslach, a leading researcher on burnout at the Healthy Workplaces Center at the University of California, Berkeley, identifies six so-called "mismatches" that make a person more likely to burn out:
1) Workload: simply too much work for one person to manage. Maslach describes it as “job demands exceeding human limits,” a definition I really appreciate
2) Control, or rather, the lack of it: this occurs when we don’t feel in control of our tasks and their outcomes. It can stem from a lack of resources needed to complete the job or circumstances preventing you from being efficient at your job
3) Lack of community: this can be a lack of teamwork, lack of support, negative social interactions (or a lack of positive ones), high levels of conflict
4) Lack of fairness: disrespect at the workplace, feeling powerless, inadequate pay, inappropriate promotions, etc.
5) Insufficient reward: this might be feeling underpaid, lacking recognition from those around you, as well as lacking intrinsic reward (the feeling that you are doing a decent job)
6) Values conflict: your personal values are out of sync with what you have to do at your job
Burnout happens because of chronic stress but it is different from just feeling stressed. Stress is about “too much,” while burnout is about “not enough.” The signs and symptoms of burnout can manifest as physical, emotional, and behavioral changes. Emotional signs include a sense of failure and self-doubt (“I am not doing enough”); feeling helpless or trapped; disengagement from the outer world; lack of motivation leading to cynicism; decreased sense of accomplishment. Physical symptoms can manifest as feeling low on energy, exhaustion; having frequent colds and infections from lowered immunity; unexplained headaches; changes in sleep patterns and eating habits. These lead to behavioral changes such as withdrawal from responsibilities, isolation from others; using unhealthy coping mechanisms like alcohol or food; skipping work; procrastination; lowered productivity and output.
You can “measure”whether you are burnt out by taking the Maslach Burnout Inventory™(MBI), validated by extensive research conducted over the more than35 years since its initial publication (please note that you will need to pay for the survey, though).
Once I got to the bottom of the causes, I started planning what I could do to regain my energy, productivity, and mental health back. It was a trial-and-error process, involving a lot of research and practice, and something I would love to share with you down the line.
Have you experienced burnout or burnout symptoms? What were your "signs"? Let me know in the comments.
