Burnout: a state of physical and emotional exhaustion in the workplace, described as a silent productivity killer by the #ICTSD, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development.
Burnout was originally coined in 1974 by psychologist, #HerbertFreudenberger who observed the condition in air traffic controllers. Sadly, we now see burnout impacting a huge variety of sectors we serve as communicators.
Many of us have suffered from what used to be called ‘stress’, but until very recent years it was a term everyone was keen to keep off their sick note. It was something to be kept quiet because it would not have been looked at sympathetically.
Whatever the term, individuals suffer burnout when they have too much on their plate. Whether it be amount of work, difficulty of work, their mental health, challenges from their home life (kids, divorce, parental caring, death), burnout is not good.
Thankfully businesses have come a long way in recent years in recognising and / or being open to stress or mental health conversations and are now much more empathetic. The pandemic, to a degree, forced this new behaviour because we all suffered from additional stress. But the statistics remain very grim reading:
* over 38% workers have experienced severe burnout;
* symptoms are more serious among Gen Z, young millennials and women;
* 61% felt exhausted at the end of their working day, see #TUCsurvey.
Here are some simple tips to help keep burnout at bay:
- Be realistic in your expectations, read job profiles thoroughly and read between the lines – most of us know when a company is looking for their pound of flesh. It’s in the words they use in their job descriptions.
- Don’t let things build until you are at breaking point – keep your boss in the loop on how things feel for you
- Be prepared to say, ‘no’ when you feel expectations of you are beyond the call of duty
- Be ready with suggestions on how to improve the workload, delegation, improved system design
- Leave work at work – turn those devices off
- Read and answer work issues during work hours
- Focus on relaxing and recharging for the next day
Burnout is never to be underestimated. We all have different work and life capacities. We are individuals. Be aware of what you as an individual can and are able to take on. Know thyself. Work is Work. If a job is too much and there are no compromises to be struck, you need to move on. Take care of yourself, always.
Watch this space – more to come on this important topic shortly.
