Battling Job-Related Burnout
As the year anniversary of COVID restrictions recently passed, I reflected on my mindset at the start of quarantine. I recall thinking, “Okay, I can work at home for a few weeks”. Oh, how naïve I was. Quarantine has totally changed the way people work. Many workers and employers have realized they can accomplish goals remotely, which allows for some scheduling flexibility and much shorter commutes. For some, the changes have brought work and life back into balance. Unfortunately, this has not been everyone’s experience.
I felt compelled to write this blog because I have noticed a significant uptick in clients, friends, and neighbors sharing they are experiencing severe distress or complete apathy related to workplace stress. Then, as I was writing this blog on burnout, the New York Times released an article on the topic titled “We Have Hit a Wall”. It seems as though my observations are reflective of a more widespread issue. The Times stated that 34% of survey respondents reported experiencing burnout. This represents an increase of 7% from just a year ago.
Most of us experience stress related to our jobs. There are days when we all feel tired, frustrated, and just plain fed up with work. Some stress is normal, and our bodies are well-equipped to bounce back from short-term stress. Burnout occurs when we find ourselves in a prolonged period of stress. It is characterized by detachment, disengagement, cynicism, and utter mental exhaustion. It is the feeling of apathy for the job we once felt passionate about. It is the dread we feel when we hear the ping of an incoming message. It is staring at the computer screen for an hour, unable to write a simple email. You see, while our bodies can easily handle acute stress, chronic stress is much more damaging to our bodies and brains. Our stress response system gets fatigued and eventually, just sort of gives up. Apathy ensues.
When researching this blog and looking up burnout I came across many factors that predispose a person to burnout and many others that focus on helping a person to cope with burnout. The more I read the more I realized that many well-meaning articles blamed the victim. Certainly, personality factors such as perfectionism, difficulty delegating to others, and being achievement-oriented contribute to burnout. It is most likely to occur when people feel ineffective or incompetent in their jobs. But burnout often afflicts very accomplished, highly-educated people: doctors, lawyers, leaders, and organizers. These individuals did not get through graduate school or work their way up the corporate ladder because they lack competence, resilience, or coping skills. The New York Times article focused on how changes related to the pandemic have contributed to burnout (and no doubt they have), but it sort of glazes over the finding that 27% of American workers felt burnt out pre-pandemic! Over a quarter of workers felt little to no enjoyment or motivation in their jobs.
In my opinion, burnout is the confluence of two things: unreasonable workplace expectations and workism. Workism is the belief that work is not only necessary to economic production, but also the centerpiece of one’s identity and life’s purpose (Thompson, 2019).
While average hours worked in many developed countries have decreased in the past decade, by comparison, Americans work longer hours, have shorter vacations, retire later, and have fewer unemployment, disability, and retirement benefits. We have become devoted to our jobs to an almost religious extent. To further exacerbate the issue, workplace success is often based on subjective evaluations and market fluctuations outside of a person’s control. To say it another way, the extent to which we feel effective and competent in our positions may be as much about luck as it is skill.
So how do we treat burnout without blaming the victim? I procrastinated on writing this blog because this question is so hard to answer. How do we stay healthy within a system that is not designed to protect our well-being?
Boundaries. I cannot stress this enough. If you are suffering from burnout, something isn’t working. To quote one of my favorite movies, “The status is not quo” -Dr. Horrible. Sure, changing your mindset and cognitive reframing might be helpful, but there needs to be some substantive changes to your duties and responsibilities. When you clock out at 5:00pm, really log off. Power down the computer, turn off notifications, and focus on life outside of work. Don’t work if you are sick. Take your weekends back. If you have to, set up an automatic email reply that you will return inquiries on Monday.
Practice saying “no”. You might worry that outright saying “no” when asked to take on an additional project might come across as rude or brash. Fine. Find a couple of phrases to put some distance between you and the request. Some of my favorites are “Let me assess my current workload and get back to you” or “Can I let you know if I have the capacity to handle that in the morning?”.
Collaborate/delegate/ask for help. Cognitive Psychologist Henry McKeen suggested, ”Let others know when you are getting fatigued by a specific task. For example, being asked to do the same thing over and over again and you need some variety to rejuvenate and refresh your mental faculties. Sometimes everyone gets in a rut when doing a lot of the same thing for an extended period of time and they don't always realize that might be translating to the people beneath them getting stifled. So pass that task along. Someone else might be appreciative for the opportunity.
Recalibrate after a period of intense work demands. Sometimes the nature of our jobs requires burning the midnight oil. Deadlines, crises, or unfortunate timing may result in working a period of long, hard hours. So you had to break your “no work on the weekends” rule. Okay, I get it. But don’t let that flexibility become your new normal. Take stock every once in a while to make sure situational work demands have not permanently eroded your boundaries.
Engage parts of your brain not activated by work. If we use the same parts of our brains over and over, those neuropathways get strengthened, but at some point they will also become fatigued. Licensed Social Worker, Juliette Lynch, suggests intentionally engaging in activities that differ from those you perform at work. If your work requires deductive reasoning and logic, try a creative pursuit like painting or songwriting. If you interact with others in meetings all day, carve out some alone time. If you are sedentary for most of the day, get your endorphins flowing with some good old physical movement or exercise.
Remember you’re human. Your attentional and working memory resources are finite. These limits are further taxed under stress. When humans are stressed their ability to concentrate is diminished, making performance worse, which may contribute to low morale, more stress, diminished concentration...you see where I’m going here. Stress and unrealistic expectations start a cascade that ends in burnout. If you can’t alter the stress from work demands, try being sensitive to other conditions that create stress on the body. Don't work while uncomfortable, don't work while hungry, don't work while tired, don't work when sick, etc.
Switch it up. Given our human limitation of attention and cognitive focus, implement systems to switch up tasks throughout the day. Consistent with the Pomodoro Technique, use apps or timers to limit tasks to 25 minute intervals.
Know when to run. In the wisdom of Kenny Rogers, take an honest assessment of the hand that you have been dealt. Some jobs are not sustainable. If you have tried everything else and you still feel dissatisfied, unfulfilled, and just plain miserable, maybe it’s time to cash in your chips and find a new job.
References
Llinas, R .H., Marsh, E.B., & Gamaldo, C.E. (2018). Residency Training: Enhancing resiliency in our residents: Combining the principles of business and neurobiology. Neurology, 91, 1721–1723.
Lyall, S. (2021). We have hit a wall. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/business/pandemic-burnout-productivity.html
Thompson, D. (2019). Workism is making Americans miserable. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/religion-workism-making-americans-miserable/583441/