Burnout & Selfcare: Part 1

Updated January 21, 2019

Have you ever felt like your career is a dead-end, or have you simply lost passion for the field that once seemed so exciting?  Or are you a stay a home parent who feels overwhelmed and you don’t recognize yourself in the mirror?

You aren’t alone. Stress and anxiety are on the rise in society, due in large part to increasing job dissatisfaction, pressure, and eventually burnout. The trend is especially prevalent among certain demographics in the technology, healthcare and investment industries.

It’s important to understand that burnout is different than just work-related stress.  Work-related stress is the result of TOO MUCH (too many pressures, too many demands on your time).  Burnout is a process in which a previously committed individual disengages from his/her work in response to excessive and prolonged levels of job stress.  Burnout is about NOT ENOUGH (feeling empty, no motivation, no hope for change, feeling “dried up”); it is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion resulting from prolonged stress in the workplace.

That’s not to say that all stress is bad.  Stress does add some positive value to your life as it can drive your performance.  For example, if you are nearing a project deadline, stress pushes you to get things done.  However, when the level of stress reaches its peak, your performance is subject to decline and you may begin to feel more and more physical and emotional distress.

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There are three dimensions of burnout (Maslach & Leiter, 1997):

1) Emotional exhaustion—loss of enthusiasm,   feeling trapped or defeated, and feeling helpless.

2) Depersonalization or Cynicism—negative attitude towards work and others, objectifying your work.

3) Low personal accomplishment—withdrawing from responsibilities, feeling ineffective,

detachment from job.

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Burnout symptoms may be subtle to the point that you dismiss the symptoms by attributing them to a common, everyday illness or they can be very overt.

Physical symptoms:

• Frequent fatigue, headaches, and/or illness
• Change in appetite or sleep (too much/too little)

Emotional symptoms:

• Sense of failure, self-doubt
• Loss of motivation, satisfaction, or sense of accomplishment

Behavioral symptoms

• Procrastination, withdrawing from responsibilities
• Skipping work, coming in late or leaving early
• Isolation from others, taking frustrations out on others
• Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope

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What contributes to burnout?  Workplace factors outweigh personal factors in terms of the impact on the level of burnout.  No one factor leads to burnout – it is the accumulation of stress occurring over time and resulting from the combination of several of the below factors.

Workplace Factors

• Excessively large caseloads/responsibilities
• Sense of a lack of control or unfairness
• Unclear expectations due to lack of communication from leadership
• Lack of recognition or reward for performance
• Difficult interpersonal dynamics—feeling micromanaged, lack of a collegial environment, unprofessional colleagues
• Monotonous/unchallenging responsibilities
• Compassion Fatigue (Figley, 1995) – the stress resulting from helping or wanting to help a traumatized or suffering person is considered a type of burnout, but it can occur as the result of a signal exposure to trauma

Personal Factors

• Mismatch between values and job
• Lack of social support
• Poor work-life balance
• Taking on too many responsibilities
• Lack of sleep
• Certain personality traits (e.g., perfectionism, pessimism)

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What are the consequences of burnout?

Workplace Consequences

• Higher rates of absenteeism, turnover
• Lower productivity and/or quality of work
• Higher rates of error
• Decreased job satisfaction and workplace morale
• Increased conflict between employees

Personal Consequences

• Emotional health problems:  Anxiety, depression, persistent guilt
• Physical health problems:  Insomnia, vulnerability to illness, heart disease, alcohol/substance use, obesity
• Relationship conflict

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The stigma associated with burnout makes it challenging to address as individuals deny, minimize, or lack awareness of their own or their colleague’s burnout.  As a result, it perpetuates a work environment that has limited dialogue and minimal exchange of information about the problem.  Furthermore, it limits the establishment of best practices for addressing burnout at an organizational level, which leaves individuals to suffer silently, and often feeling unsupported.

Call to Action:  Do you feel you may be on the verge of burnout?  If you are concerned, there are many burnout surveys/tools available online that can help determine your risk.

Check this one out: https://www.onelegacy.org/docs/BurnoutQuestionnaire_PublicWelfare1981_Modified2013.pdf .

In Part 2 of this three part series, I will discuss the role of self-care in fostering self resiliency that empowers individuals to minimize the effects of burnout or to avoid it altogether.

If you haven’t done so already, subscribe to my newsletter and receive your FREE 13-page Self-Care Starter Kit.   If you need a boost of motivation or inspiration, follow me on Facebook or Instagram to catch my daily quote. 

Reference: 

Figley, C.R. (Ed.) (1995). Compassion Fatigue: Secondary Traumatic Stress Disorders from Treating the Traumatized. New York: Brunner/Mazel.

Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E. and Leiter, M.P. (1997) Maslach Burnout Inventory. In: Evaluating Stress: A Book of Resources, 3rd Edition, Scarecrow Education, Lanham, 191-218.

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