Burnout: The silent epidemic
When back to work reality hits and the incessant juggle of work and home kicks up a notch at the end of the summer, burnout can quickly strike, leaving even the strongest high achiever struggling.
The key to avoiding burnout is recognising it before it happens and being ready with a strategy for dealing with it. As Amy K Hutchens reminded me during our Zoom interview, if you want to avoid burnout and maintain your high-performing energy, keep your focus on daily habits, daily priorities and investing in self-care, not waiting until the end of the project or the quarter or after the next board meeting.
Read on to discover more about burnout, how you can identify it in yourself and your team and learn from other professional women’s burnout experiences.
What exactly is burnout?
According to a recent TUC study, professionals face more intense working days than ever, with less time for their private lives and an increased risk of burnout: 61% reported feeling exhausted at the end of every working day.
But what exactly is burnout? Burnout isn’t a medically recognised condition but rather an occupational phenomenon; a syndrome often caused by long-term stress that presents itself as a state of physical and emotional exhaustion.
Common symptoms or signs of burnout include:
Stress over a long period of time
Feelings of energy depletion, exhaustion or depression
Increased mental distance or negativity or cynicism relating to work life or directed at colleagues
Reduced professional productivity / efficiency
A sense of being alone and unsupported
Disruptions to daily life and changes in the workplace caused by the global pandemic, including hybrid and remote working and ‘the great resignation’, paired with economic uncertainty, profit warnings and personal logistical challenges, are all fuelling this silent epidemic.
Chronic staff shortages also mean many are expected to work longer hours and take on more responsibility, bigger projects and workloads.
How to spot the signs of burnout
Whilst some signs of burnout are easy to spot in the team members ready to talk about it, other indications can be much more difficult to detect, particularly when staff members keep them hidden.
With burnout on the rise, here are 8 signs you or your team members may be close to burning out:
Working noticeably longer hours
Conflicting priorities
Lack of participation and proactivity
Taking longer to follow through or report back
Negative attitude or blaming others
Poor performance
Lack of focus or forgetfulness
If you believe this may be a theme surfacing in your organisation, we highly recommend Amy K Hutchens’ 5 Ways to Win the Burnout Battle as an excellent place to start - it gives actionable and practical guidance.
Real-life burnout experiences
In your mind, burnout could be ‘something that isn’t going to impact me’, but the statistics show this silent epidemic is causing people to drastically re-think their work lives, and as a consequence, talented people are leaving organisations in large numbers.
Margaret Ricci, founder and CEO of Cultural Strategies LLC, experienced burnout and said, “I kept trying to do the work of two to three people and working 80- to 90-hour weeks, every week for over two years while my own personhood slipped away from me.”
Similarly, Jonna Piira, founder of Kali, said she “was working full time as a CFO, consulting for another company on nights and weekends, was an adjunct professor, and was co-chair of a gala. I also was working on the business plan for Kali. I didn't realise at the time I was burning out. There were signs, but I didn't see them.”
Thankfully, both women recognised their burnout symptoms and took time out to evaluate what they needed to change. Whilst Ricci focused on self-discovery and using this to help her thrive, Piira listed all of her commitments from most fulfilling to least and removed items from the bottom of the list, and both recognised the need for extra support.
Avoid the silent burnout epidemic
When it comes to burnout, it’s imperative to identify the signs early, have strategies in place to mitigate it and step in as soon as possible, whether that’s for yourself or your team members.
Many of our clients come to us at a point at which their situation is no longer sustainable. Their health and relationships are suffering. They feel as though they are just not enjoying life. Reaching out for support was exactly the right thing for them to have done before things spiralled out of control.
Having the CiD team in support gives them an advantage that has the power to literally change their lives. We pick up their mental load from home, take away the distractions and background noise of ‘life-min’, allowing our clients to breathe more easily and have something left for themselves at the end of the day.
Contact Consider it Done now to discover how our team of high calibre PAs can help lighten your workload from home, and leave you with some freedom and breathing space in your life.
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