Burnout as a concept has been researched well over 40 years, with the earliest research accounts dating back to the work of Freudenberger 1974, who described burnout as a “feeling of failure and being worn or wrung out, resulting from an overload of claims on energy, on personal resources or on the spiritual strength of the worker” . It was Christina Maslach however who made work of turning the concept into a workable definition that everyone can understand. Essentially burnout is best defined as exhaustion on a physical, emotional and mental level as a result of experiencing prolonged periods of stress and 'lack of control' in the burnout environment. Burnout environment mostly pertains to work/an occupation , however more recently there has been a fair bit of research into other types of burnout such as parental burnout - more coming on this in another post. Now that you know what burnout is, you may be asking why should I care? Burnout is probably the biggest cause of worker retention, decreased productivity and increased absenteeism in the workplace. If you are an employer, you want to know this so you can provide your employees with the means to combat burnout in order to provide a healthy work environment and subsequently experience favourable profit margins as the result of optimal employee output. If you are an employee, you want to know about burnout because it may explain a variety of symptoms or feelings you may be experiencing that could be impacting on your mental well-being, relationships and health. Research has linked a number of health related issues to burnout including but not limited to chronic fatigue,cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, bone and joint pain, fatigue, headaches, gastrointestinal and respiratory issues, accident proneness and even death. Burnout can affect anyone in any job at any time, however people working in care-giving or 'person-oriented' careers are at higher risk for burnout. New data also indicates that women have been experiencing higher levels of burnout since the start of the pandemic, as many dual responsibilities have fallen into their laps by default.
What causes burnout?
Burnout is caused by a number of factors such as work load, work environment and work relationships as well as lifestyle and personality traits. For burnout to occur a number of intricate dynamics come into play in complex ways, and whilst it seems easy to shine a magnifying glass on work, it is equally important to understand that the use of your 'downtime' and the way you view the world will impact on the development and experience of burnout as much if not more than what happens at work.
Can burnout be reversed?
The good news is yes. The sooner burnout is identified and addressed, the sooner your road to recovery can begin. The three step process is to Recognize, take Responsibility, and move towards Recovery. With the correct tools and an a spot of perspective taking you will build resilience that will serve you in years to come. That is where counselling or even career coaching can be very beneficial. If you are curious about how this process might help you or your staff, reach out through out contact form
for an no-obligation consultation. If you are still unsure feel free to complete the burnout scale below for a brief informal overview of your levels of burnout.
*no information will be retained or shared with the publisher of this survey. the scores and outcomes is for your information only.
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