If we don’t want to burnout, we need to stop living like we are on fire.

One of my previous employers used to call me a machine. Hmm...at the time, I took that as a compliment but in retrospect, he didn’t mean it as one! You see, I used to be a bit of a productivity ninja. I was proud of my ability to juggle multiple tasks, work quickly and effectively and I rarely took breaks. I enjoyed my reputation for getting things done, as someone who could be relied on to deliver.

That pace was not sustainable. I was working longer and longer hours, found myself preoccupied with work when I was at home, starting postponing time with friends or skipping my runs and I was exhausted much of the time. I started to fall out of love with a job I had always enjoyed. Luckily I recognised that the headaches I was getting, and the inability to switch off at the end of the day were signs that I needed to change something.

That ‘something’ I needed to change was my mindset.  Although I was indeed in a busy, pressured job, much of the pressure was self imposed and came from the stories I told myself about work and my value.

If I didn’t want to burnout, I needed to stop living like I was on fire.

Since the pandemic, our home and work lives have become more integrated than ever. Many of us carry our offices in our pockets or on our phones and pivot between work and personal worlds seamlessly (or chaotically). There is no doubt that our increased flexibility has bought some benefits but that increased availability can also come with a cost.

Burnout has become an umbrella term. People may use it to mean they are tired, bored, fed up with their managers, overwhelmed by personal responsibilities, depressed, working too many hours — and the list goes on. Certainly, being okay when things are not okay with a seemingly bottomless workload and responsibilities at home can feel a tall order these days.

Officially, the World Health Organisation describes burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from a chronic imbalance between job demands and job resources characterised by

•       Extreme tiredness

•       Reduced ability to regulate thoughts and emotions

•       Mental distancing – stopping caring about their work

In real terms, you might experience it as:

·      Struggling with a bottomless workload

·      An inability to switch off from work

·      Having difficulty sleeping because you are thinking about work

·      Stopping doing things you know you like and make you feel good because you feel you should work instead or if you do stop, you feel guilty

·      Starting to have headaches, feelings of anxiety

A leadership researcher, Nick Petrie, who is two thirds of the way through an extensive research project on burnout has interviewed 1000 workers from CEO to supervisor level who have experienced burnout.

As well as the factors listed above, his team also picked up that the things that make you successful early, can make you more likely to burn you later. Things like:

•       Saying ‘yes’ to everything and have difficulty saying no or feel guilty when you do

•       Work relentlessly even if you have no capacity left

•       A fear of letting anyone down

•       Measuring your self worth by your success

You work non stop, panic about all the work you have left. You try to take a break and then panic about all the work piling up while you do.

I wonder if you recognise yourself in this?

Burnout is caused by a mixture of organisational factors and individual factors. Here I’m concentrating on the individual factors as most of the work I do is with individuals. It is possible to regain control, look at your mindset and make changes but as this involves changing decades worth of thinking and behaviour, sometimes you need support to do so.

I’ve written and spoken before about the signs, symptoms and impact of burnout. Many people approach me afterwards to say: “You are describing me...what can I do?” My call to action for you is talk to someone NOW...someone you trust at home or work or someone like me. Don’t wait because...

If you don’t make time to look after yourself, your body WILL pick a time for you.

To contact me for coaching on preventing or managing burnout, flamingoplm2022@gmail.com