Burnout: a ticking timebomb to follow the pandemic?
- Ame Harris
- 4 jun 2021
- 3 minuten om te lezen
Burnout is a worldwide phenomenon that has been around for ages. The term was first coined in 1973 by Herbert J. Freudenberger. Since then, it has been widely and generously used. However, a Swiss psychotherapist has even claimed that burnout has been around since biblical times.
Burnout was officially recognised as an occupational syndrome by the WHO in 2019 but not as a medical condition. After Freudenberger identified burn-out in the seventies, nearly all working class individuals and sectors have experienced a form of burnout, from teachers to CEO's and investment bankers. Many also wore this label as a badge of honour to demonstrate the amount of hours and 'hard work' being put into building a career. Fast forward to the present, the Trimbos Institute in the Netherlands reports 29% of people are exhausted, 14% are experiencing symptoms of burnout and 12% are struggling with mental illness.
If we add a pandemic into the mix which completely disrupted our lives, forced us to live with anxiety for a prolonged period of time and exponentially increased feelings of loneliness and social isolation. What will the result be of adding exceptional circumstances to a societal disease? That remains unclear but we can not expect good outcomes.
Burnout is nothing more than a balance problem. Put too much weight on one side and sooner rather than later everything will come tumbling down. It's time we all paid attention to sustainable physical and mental habits to prevent us from crumbling and taking a very long time to rebuild again.
How do counter the symptoms that take hold when being burnt-out or, even better, how do we prevent it from happening all together? Burnout is a very serious and complex condition. There is no one size fits all approach, each person's recovery is different. The following tips are useful to integrate into your daily life, however, if you are suffering from burnout, I advise seeking help from a professional.
Find stability.
This may seem like a simple solution but people suffering from burnout often feel completely overwhelmed by the endless to-do lists, experience pressure from themselves and work and have constant feeling of loss of control. Ask yourself if each activity you are participating in, is worth your time and is aiding in empowering you. In most cases, this would certainly mean making changes to the way in which you work and how you structure your day.
Manage your energy.
Energy is not only limited to the amount of calories per day, but rather what stimulates and drives you. The best advice would be to find a balance of all these energies. Pay attention to your spiritual side, challenge yourself to a difficult cognitive problem, go for a slow-paced jog around the block. These are all examples of different types of energies and receiving stimulation keeps them all balanced. The same goes for knowing the limits of your energy. If you feel that a certain task is draining you, rather switch to something you enjoy and build up your tolerance to the challenging tasks gradually.
Gain perspective.
It's very easy to get drawn into a vicious cycle. Only focussed on problem-solving at work or improving your performance. These are exhausting tasks. That's why it's great to talk to an outsider if you're feeling overwhelmed by something. Besides having an outsider's opinion, it may even clear your thoughts on the matter just speaking it aloud. Taking a step back isn't necessarily a bad thing but it might help you to effectively manage yourself and steer your career in the right direction.
The working landscape is changing at a rapid pace and working from home will certainly have it's hand to play in it. Working overtime does not deserve a badge of honour but it's rather an indication of an unbalanced individual. It's time we changed our mindsets and develop our own sustainable habits. That way we will be building a life and not solely a career.
If you're having trouble finding your balance again or would like to invest in healthy working habits, Healthy Office can help you. Check out the Balance-it-Out and Train and Gain programmes to see what we have to offer.
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