#9: Don't get burnt
Burnout's generous admission policy, working when we're not working, and how to look after yourself and others.
Let’s start this issue with an admission. Both of us struggle to talk about burnout in public. At times, admitting anything of the sort to the outside world can feel like airing dirty laundry. Like people might think you don’t like your job, or that you can’t manage your workload. But burnout is real and no one's immune. In fact, 43% of all sick days in the UK are now due to burnout. That’s not an individual issue, it’s a systemic one.
This issue we’ll be talking about all things burnout. From what it is, why so many of us suffer from it, the hidden causes, and how to take steps to prevent and remedy it for yourself and others.
Until next time, stay cool.
Milly and Yumi
While hustle culture - all bold font, Instagram quotes, and muscle emojis - is now generally acknowledged as toxic, the idea of ‘working hard’ is one deeply ingrained in the fabric of our society. Burnout is the hazardous by-product of this. Defined as ‘a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress’, burnout occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.
The concept of burnout was formalised by an American psychologist in the 1970s, originally in reference to severe stress in ‘helping’ professions such as doctors and nurses. But it has become understood that self-sacrificing work no longer restricts itself to these sorts of roles.
In fact, burnout is very generous in its afflictions. Contrary to misconceptions you don’t have to be in a high-powered job or have mental health challenges for it to let you into the club. It has a very relaxed door policy. Indeed, generally liking or even loving your job won’t provide immunisation. The fact of the matter is that people who work long hours tend to suffer from sleep deprivation and an inability to rest during time-off. Both classic checkpoints in the burnout vicious circle and both increasing the risk of developing heart disease. Working hard isn’t so sexy when it's put like that.
That inability to rest during time-off is an important point. Most conversations around burnout point all fingers towards work - that thing you get paid for, and in some cases side hustles. But what about when we think we’re relaxing?
Well, according to Mareile Pfannebecker, co-author of ‘Work Want Work: Labour and Desire at the End of Capitalism’, even when we think we’re relaxing, we’re working. When we spend our free time online we’re ‘working for platform capitalist companies that are extracting value from us.’ Not only that, but you know that feeling when you’re supposed to be enjoying yourself, say at dinner or on a walk, and you find yourself compelled to take a picture for Instagram or capture a witty quote for Twitter? Well, that compulsion to self-valorise is also a sort of work.
It’s fairly ironic then, that escaping work is such hard work. One suggestion is to listen to the body as a mediator. When we’re conditioned to a certain narrative, our thoughts can sometimes become muddied. But often our bodies show us the signs. They tell us when we’re running on empty. Much as our laptops bleat at us when they’re low on battery or our cars let us know when they’re nearly out of fuel. We don’t ignore those alerts in our gadgets, so why would we in ourselves?
If this year feels like a real-life version of Groundhog Day but with endless screens and the same four walls, you’re not on your own. We all know the usual advice for dealing with stress: meditate, exercise, eat well, and sleep. So we’ll skip over what you might know already.
For understanding burnout
Six Areas of Worklife Model by Michael Leiter and Christina Maslach
Despite what common wisdom wants us to believe, workload is not the only factor leading to exhaustion. A mismatch between an individual’s expectations with any of the six areas of worklife - workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values - can all contribute to burnout.We love the shift of perspective, showing that burnout may often be created by people’s workplaces rather than their poor self-care habits (although, that definitely doesn’t help).
Do You Know Burnout When You See It? by Margaret Luciano and Joan Brett
It would be somewhat ironic to overwhelm with resources on burnout, so we’ll add just one more article in this section that offers advice on how to spot burnout symptoms.
For preventing and recovering from burnout
The Ultimate Guide to Burnout by Spill
This guide is a good one to share as there’s bound to be something for everyone. We’re particularly keen on the ideas for preventing and solving burnout-related issues as they range from easy-to-implement actions to bigger questions to discuss as a company.Stoic
If you do feel like you’d benefit from looking inward, Stoic might come to the rescue. Completing its exercises and prompts for reflection will feel like spending time with your most enlightened friend: useful, thought-provoking, and reassuring.Why psychological safety at work is key to preventing employee burnout by Jared Lindzon
As we’ve seen, burnout can be a product of many things and we always support the approach that takes the full picture into account. That full picture may include examining your work culture, and how your company facilitates psychological safety within the team - well worth a think.
And for a different perspective
Sometimes you just need to do this…
…and it’s more than ok.
Thanks for reading! Do forward this on to someone if you think it might help. There’s even a handy button here so you don’t have to scroll all the way up.
Before you head off, Work Daze was created to help others lead healthier and happier lives at work, so this topic sits close to home. We only recommend what we believe could genuinely make a difference, and would love to hear what helped you through tough times.
If you think you might have some tips to share, please leave a comment below or leave a response via our form if you’d prefer to stay anonymous and your resources will be added to our free Library.
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Another amazing edition! Work for work's sake needs to be left in the 19th century where it belongs 🏄♀️
The Spill website is very complete indeed! Didn't find anything quite so useful when I looked for resources on the subject a couple of years ago