I was speaking the other day with an executive from a service industry and he made the comment- “I just don’t think I have it in me at this point to push the accelerator up to 90 mph on this project-again.” We spoke of his general sense of exhaustion with work and his intolerance of even trivial interactions with colleagues. In his conversation he attributed a nuisance number to every interaction- a numeral representation of how much ATP or energy he would need to expend on each interaction. It was alarmingly clear that this executive was displaying some classic signs of “burnout”.
Burnout is a state of mental and physical exhaustion caused by intense and prolonged stress. Like a rubber band stretched to maximum length over a period of time, the band reaches its state of maximum elasticity, is unable to accommodate further demands on its length and pops. This popping is what happens physically and emotionally with burnout. Burnout is a recognized physical condition, an actual medical diagnosis. The good news, however, is that you can recognize burnout in its early manifestations and remedy the condition through coaching and lifestyle changes to avert serious illness.
Burnout begins with some behavioral traits that are highly rewarded in our work culture and then progresses to the full-blown syndrome of burnout:
Some of the characteristics of burnout are the following:
- A compulsion to prove oneself
- Working harder
- Neglecting one’s own needs
- Displacement of conflict (the person does not realize the root cause of the distress)
- Revision of values (friends, family, hobbies, etc., are dismissed)
- Denial of emerging problems (cynicism, aggression, and frustration become apparent)
- Withdrawal from social contexts, potential for alcohol or drug abuse
- Behavioral changes become more visible to others
- Inner emptiness
- Depression
Burnout syndrome Scientific American Mind, 2006, Vol. 17, Issue 3
Some work environments tend to be more highly correlated with burnout:
- Feeling like you have little or no control over your work.
- Lack of reward and recognition for a job well done.
- Unclear or unrealistic job expectations.
- Doing work that’s monotonous or routine.Working in a chaotic or high-pressure environment with a high rate of change or uncertainty.
Certain individuals are more prone to becoming burned out because of work related behaviors that relate to their “why it matters. The “why is matters” is a Sherpa coaching concept that addresses the core motivating factor that gets you out of bed in the morning, makes you successful in your career (your super power) and ultimately can become your Achilles heel (your kryptonite) if you do not manage it.
Personality traits and “Why it matters” that can contribute to burnout:
- The “Why It Matters” of “wanting more”, “to get it done right”, “to achieve Mastery”
- Perfectionistic, internal expectations
- Pessimistic expectations of yourself and the world
- The need to be in control, reluctance to delegate to others, lack of effectiveness in setting expectations
- High-achieving personalities
The warning signs of burnout are well catalogued as follows:
- Have you become cynical or critical at work?
- Do you drag yourself to work and have trouble getting started once you arrive?
- Have you become irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers or clients?
- Do you lack the energy to be consistently productive?
- Do you lack satisfaction from your achievements?
- Do you feel disillusioned about your job?
- Are you using food, drugs or alcohol to feel better or to simply not feel?
- Have your sleep habits or appetite changed?
- Are you troubled by unexplained headaches, backaches or other physical complaints?
An excellent self -assessment for burnout is located at the following URL
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTCS_08.htm
I encourage you to take the assessment and see what your score is.