Burnout Society

Are we living in a burnout society? As leaders, we are motivated and like to think we have purposeful meaning in all things we do. Most leaders wear many different hats, especially small business leaders. You are motivator, mentor, visionary, and business savvy. However, at some point, we will run across a person or group people we work with that will have lost their motivation or seem detached. Leaders often find it hard to empathize with those folks because they become unproductive and continue to be disengaged. Too often, leaders think the person should just suck it up and get back to the grind. This article will discuss basic signs to look for and ways to help.

For leaders, this mindset is easy to fall into and typically ignores the root cause. It’s critical as to find or understand underlying issue for those that have lost their enthusiasm. Believe it or not, most people want to be successful with their jobs. Often, it’s just plain old school burnout. For high performers it is common to experience burnout.

What is Burnout?

What is burnout? It is characterized as exhaustion, inefficacy, and feeling detached. The stresses of professional life can lead to a hindering state of burnout. As stress continues the loss of normal interests and motivation will spill over into every area of life. Sooner or later, a person may feel like they have nothing more to give. I know when I start to feel burned-out, I’ll sit in my vehicle in front building just staring at for awhile. Research has associated burnout to high blood pressure, sleep issues, depression, poor performance, and substance abuse.

Burnout is not uncommon, in fact, 41 percent of employees surveyed in May 2020 experienced work-related burnout. Job stress or burnout is estimated to cost American companies more than $300 billion a year. Although not officially classified as a medical condition, the World Health Organization recognize burnout as an ‘occupational phenomenon’ due to ‘chronic workplace stress…has not been successfully managed.’ When a person is suffering from burnout they can’t just work through it.

Types of Burnout

Burnout can be broken down to 3 different types and can be identified quickly.

Overload Burnout

Overload is the type of burnout that most people typically think of. It’s continuing to work at an unsustainable pace to the point of physical and mental exhaustion seeking acknowledgement, security, or financial success.

Warning Signs

• Overlook their own needs or personal life to fulfill the demands of work
• Unhealthy commitment to career
• Engage in unhealthy activities to reach career goals

How To Handle

Encourage employees to separate professional and work life responsibility. High performers on average take a short break every 50 minutes to recharge their batteries. Allow employees to set boundaries and respect those boundaries. Support personal hobbies outside of work and ask them about it. Set up employee programs designed to reduce work stress. Examples are exercise programs, volunteering, or hire a life coach.

Under-Challenged Burnout

Surprising not being challenged can lead to burnout. This occurs when an employee is bored and not challenged by their job. Feeling underappreciated and discouraged this leads to coping by avoidance, distraction dissociation or suppression. Without the passion, they quickly lose interest and slip into the background.

Warning Signs

• Asking for assignments or tasks that are more challenging
• Assignments isn’t offering opportunities to develop new skills
• Position is dead end with no room for advancement

How To Handle

It is your job, as a leader, to keep employees challenged. Some employees like short-term assignments that give them a consistent feeling achievement while others like long-term assignments. Allow employees to work outside their ‘box.’ When they do work on an assignment outside their ‘box’ be sure they have access to the proper resources. It’s a good idea to set up a weekly mentoring session with them.

Neglect Burnout

Neglect burnout occurs when an employee is given a new task to complete without guidance, direction, or structure. This happens a lot with younger new employees. Without a sense of purpose employees may stop improving skills or working on other projects during work.

Warning Signs

• Stop executing plans when faced with obstacles
• Giving up easily when setbacks happen
• Feeling demoralized at work

How To Handle

It’s a good idea to set up one-on-one mentoring sessions and start delegating special tasks. Help them build plans, prioritize tasks and work with them on confidence issues. Let the employee focus on the tasks they can control. This will allow the employee to work on prioritizing their tasks or To-Do list. In turn, when they accomplish the tasks, it will give them a feeling of team contribution and self-gratification.

Bottom Line

Burnout is tough to handle for both employees and leaders. It can wreak havoc at the workplace and at home. As a leader it is your responsibility to ensure the professional wellbeing of employees. Learn to identify, understand and how to help will pay off in employee retention. Allow boundaries to be set, cultivate an environment to build relationships with colleagues, encourage interests outside of work and keep work at work and set both long-term and short-term goals. Be observant, be patient, and don’t think a person can push through it by their self. Set up a risk-management program that monitors employee’s mental health before the workplace becomes a culture of stress.

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