Burnout (20 min read)
“Chronic stress was rampant even before the pandemic. Leaders can’t ignore it any longer.” - Jennifer Moss
The Harvard Business Review recently released an insightful report on burnout and chronic stress “Beyond Burned Out” by Jennifer Moss. In general, many of us are aware of the term “burnout”, either from experiencing it, knowing someone experiencing it, or reading about it. Chronic stress and burnout impacts individuals in different ways, and traditionally businesses have always treated burnout as an individual issue and problem, viewing it as something employees have to figure out for themselves.
Organizations often fail to recognize the stress they create for their people. Offering traditional benefits such as healthcare, elderly care, and childcare services are all viewed as necessary to help an individual alleviate challenges in their own private lives, however few businesses recognize that the pressure the organization itself can bring to an individual can be one of the largest stressors for an employee.
The HBR article “Beyond Burned Out“ delves into what burnout is, what triggers it, why it’s now so bad, and what organizational steps can be taken to help prevent and manage it.
As we are all too familiar now, the pandemic has shifted life for everyone, and the article reveals insights of their survey in Q4 2020 showing that this topic of burnout is not getting better:
89% of respondents said their work life was getting worse.
85% said their well-being had declined.
56% said their job demands had increased.
62% of the people who were struggling to manage their workloads had experienced burnout “often” or “extremely often” in the previous three months.
57% of employees felt that the pandemic had a “large effect on” or “completely dominated” their work.
55% of all respondents didn’t feel that they had been able to balance their home and work life — with 53% specifically citing homeschooling.
25% felt unable to maintain a strong connection with family, 39% with colleagues, and 50% with friends.
Only 21% rated their well-being as “good,” and a mere 2% rated it as “excellent.”
At Birch Cove we know nurturing through adversity and creating more well-being in business is game changing for both individuals and the business itself. Our “Stress, Anxiety & Burnout” session helps individuals to understand what all of these buzz words are, and how they can turn into burnout, what the signs are and what you can do about it. Importantly the session shares strategies you can adopt to help manage stress and anxiety to hopefully avoid the challenge of burnout. When organizations create a culture where it’s ok to learn about these topics, understand strategies to navigate them, and actively encourage changes in practice within the culture, and giving individuals support through education, experience, and practice opportunities, this is when positive shifts begin happening.
Birch Cove is not a medical or therapy based business, we do not offer guarantees of any kind. We are not responsible for the well-being of businesses or individuals that read, watch, or hear our content, or take part in sessions, or use our services or the services we highlight. Birch Cove and our Collective members are not responsible for the physical and mental health and well-being of individuals we interact with directly or indirectly. We work to share best practices that inspire healthy living and revitalize a quality of life. If you personally are feeling unwell seek professional medical advice, and follow the CDC guidelines as appropriate.