November 2009
Recovering From Burnout
A recent survey of nonprofit organizations revealed telling statistics about how the recent economic crisis has affected nonprofit organizations. The survey revealed that 58% of the respondents indicated they will not create any new positions in their organization in 2009, and 26% planned to downsize or layoff staff this year. The reason given for most of the layoffs? “Overall Budget Shortfall” (53.9%) led the list. It’s clear that nonprofits across the country are hurting.
As organizations downsize and layoff workers, the remaining employees are often expected to “pick up the slack” for their missing colleagues. It’s not unusual for employees who survived layoff to wonder if the increased work load and ongoing stress of ‘doing more with less’ is worth it. They may wonder when, or if, work will get back to ‘normal’.
Long-term stress combined with the perception that we have little control over important circumstances of our life can create what’s called “burnout’. Maybe you’ve been there or maybe you suspect you’re headed that way. Maybe you have an employee whose performance has deteriorated in recent months. If it’s due to burnout, how can you help them?Burnout-- What is it?
Burnout is a gradual process of physical, mental, and emotional deterioration in response to ongoing stress. Physically, it may be hard to get out of bed in the morning, and you may feel exhausted for days regardless of the hours of sleep you get. You may begin to catch every cold and flu as your immune system declines in the face of ongoing stress.
People who are burned-out report the feeling of being emotionally exhausted and having “nothing left to give”. Their outlook becomes increasingly pessimistic, and they may begin to detach from their responsibilities and from others. They may become apathetic, harsh and uncaring with others. As burnout progresses without relief, they may experience a sense of hopelessness and “losing their grip” on life and/or work.
What Causes Burnout?
Burnout can occur when an extended period of unrelenting stress is combined with the feeling of losing autonomy, control, or authority over stressors in your life.
Employees perform best when their supervisors’ expectations are reasonable, their goals are clear and well communicated, and they are given adequate resources to accomplish the tasks assigned to them. The survival mode that accompanies difficult economic times challenges that ideal model. If your supervisor suddenly expects you to accomplish all the tasks of your current job plus the tasks of your former colleague, your goals will no longer be so clear. Unrealistically high expectations put a strain on employees that contributes to their feeling a lack of control over their own job. A common mistake supervisors make after a layoff is to expect the remaining employees to maintain the programs at the previous levels despite fewer staff.
When unrealistic expectations are combined with other dysfunctions such as poor communication, poor leadership, or a chronic lack of recognition for your work, employees begin to feel there’s no relief in sight. They sense that they are working harder and longer, and before long employees begin to feel, “They don’t pay me enough to deal with this stuff!”
At its core, burnout is caused by a disconnect between your deepest values and your activities.Who's Most Susceptible to Burnout?
Not everyone is susceptible to burnout. So what do we know about who is most vulnerable?
To spot the people in your organization most at risk for burnout, think of the employee with a strong ethic of responsibility and dedication – the one who refuses to quit until the job is done. The statistics show us that quitters don’t experience burnout.
People at risk for burnout will demonstrate one or more of these characteristics:
- trouble negotiating or saying ‘no’, especially with those in authority
- conflict avoidance
- sensitivity to stress
- perfectionist
- pessimistic
- dislikes change
- rigid, ‘black-and-white’ thinking
- “Type A” personality
- a poor fit between the job and the person’s skills and abilities
- a lack of belief in the values their work supports
If you’re an employer or supervisor, you may recognize one or more of these traits in one of your subordinates. Although you may be tempted to think “Are you kidding? They’re my best employee!”, be aware that what you view as an admirable dedication to their work may actually be a precursor to an inevitable “rebalancing” down the road as burnout.
How Burnout Affects Your Work and Life
The initial signs of burnout may be more visible to us personally than to those around us. Before your colleagues really notice the changes, you may experience the feeling of being emotionally drained and having the feeling of “nothing left to give”. As burnout progresses, it becomes tough to see the humor in everyday life, and you may be dogged by a continual feeling of anxiety, worry, or guilt. You may begin to find that a weekend away from work doesn’t refresh you like it used to.
Eventually, the signs of burnout become visible to others:
- lowered productivity and efficiency
- increased pessimism and cynical attitude
- absence of humor
- increased absenteeism
- increased tension between the employee and others
- overreacting to normal stresses, including blowing up at a colleague or client
Recovering From Burnout
Personally. . .
Burnout is not a sign of failure, but rather a sign that you gave away too much of yourself. “OK”, you think, “I’m there. It’s definitely burnout. Is there any hope? I can’t afford to just quit my job and recover on the beach in Tahiti!”
Once you recognize the symptoms of burnout, DON’T DO NOTHING. Burnout continues to progress until relief is provided in one form or another, so doing nothing increases the chances that your behavior at work will eventually result in your being disciplined (or fired). And if you aren’t fired quickly enough, your body will eventually create a physical emergency that will ensure your removal from your work situation. Doing nothing is the worst choice you can make.
Instead, schedule time completely away from work and from your normal routine to actively consider your life, both personal and at work. The break may consist of several days, or maybe it will simply be a weekend alone dedicated to this task. Sometimes this can be the hardest part. This is the first step to recovery because you may have to say “no” to a few people in order to find the necessary time. Keep in mind that the inconvenience of being a few days behind work or missing a child's ball game is worth the long-term changes that can come from the break.
The time away is an opportunity to reassess what you value most, because burnout is a signal that your behavior hasn’t been in line with your ‘core’ values. Core values are the beliefs you hold most deeply. What is most important to you? Make a list of these values. If you have trouble getting started, try starting with a list of what you DON’T like. The reasons why you don’t like them will begin to reveal your core values.
In order to begin to heal, you need to understand what caused you to burnout. What personal values did you violate, and what lessons can you learn from the experience? Maybe you’ll find out that contrary to the culture in your office, working longer hours really hasn’t been all that productive. Maybe you’ll discover that you really don’t like the people you work with, or that the job hasn’t lived up to what you’d hoped it to be when you started. Perhaps you’ll realize that no matter how hard you personally work, unless others are on board and actively support a project, you can’t do it alone. Perhaps you’ll recognize that you should have listened to your gut all the way back to the beginning of the job. As the thoughts and ideas come to mind, write them down, just as you would a brainstorming project. Even thoughts that you feel are “bad” can reveal insights when dissecting the thought as to why you would feel that way. Remember you have no obligation to show your thoughts to anyone else.
If you find yourself struggling to get started in this self-discovery process, you may find it helpful to find someone to talk to. A professional counselor trained in loss and intervention would be ideal, but a straight-forward friend who is completely removed from the stressful situation would be a great alternative. Your spouse or a colleague from your office may not be able to give you the unbiased feedback you need to realistically assess how you got here.
Expect the process of reflecting, assessing your mistakes and wrong choices, and preparing to correct the imbalance in your life to be emotionally draining. You’ll be grieving losses, admitting the error in long-held beliefs, and accepting feelings of hurt and disappointment in yourself and possibly others. Don’t stop here, because now that you have a list of ‘lessons learned’, you’re ready to move forward – out of burnout and on with your life.
With your list of 'lessons learned', decide what you need to change in your life to correct the stressors that led to burnout. Decide how your core values will look when practiced in your work situation.
Finally, consider whether the changes that need to be made can take place within the context of your current job. Will healing require changing jobs completely? Renegotiating the terms of your current job with your employer? Acquiring new skills? Or something else?
Keep your list of core values nearby as you return to work and begin to make changes in your life. These are the principles you’ll need to keep in place to avoid finding yourself in burnout again.
Helping a Burned-out but Valued Employee
As an employer, if you recognize the signs of burnout in your employee, what can you do to help? Declining performance and an increase in employee misbehavior may be your first clue that one or more of your employees is suffering burnout. You’d like to help, but how do you do that without violating their privacy or knowing what your limits should be?
First, examine your own actions in the past year and see if you might have contributed in any way to the employee’s distress. Have you failed to communicate goals and expectations clearly? Have you inadvertently passed the stress you may feel on to your employee? Are any of the parameters or expectations of the employee’s job unrealistic? Have you given public credit for their good work? Have you ensure the employee is getting enough time-off? Correcting unfair or unreasonable job circumstances may help to relieve some of the pressure the employee is feeling.
If you have a human resources (HR) officer or department, talk to them privately about your concerns. They will know the resources that are available to provide assistance to the employee should they desire help. They will also provide valuable advice about what to do next. Follow it.
If you have no HR officer, talk to your supervisor, or if you are an Executive Director, talk to a trusted member of your board. Together you can create a plan to make the employee aware of how their work performance is suffering and to offer assistance should they desire it. Be sensitive where these conversations take place and who is around. In Alaska, the Alaska Mental Health Board offers a resource guide called, Finding Help When You Need It, which covers many of the mental health resources available for you and your employees in Alaska.Preventing Burnout
Recovery from burnout is possible -- and so is relapse. To stay healthy, practice these principles:
- Learn and practice healthy boundaries (a great resource from a Biblical perspective is Boundaries by Townsend and Cloud)
- Learn which of your efforts produce the most results. Focus on them and let the others go.
- Establish the habit of regular exercise to help burn off stress.
- Eat a healthy diet and get at least eight hours of sleep each night.
- Change your perspective on life by helping others who are hurting or are less fortunate than you.
People who are ‘immunized’ against burnout exhibit the following characteristics:
- They are realists.
- They have reasonable goals.
- They have healthy emotional boundaries without being negative.
- They have a sense of humor.
- They take care of themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually.
- They are grateful for the good things in their life.
- They care about others and help them when they can do it without compromising themselves.
The most complete way to recover from burnout is to take the painful but necessary steps to rebalance your life, then take what you’ve learned from the experience and use it to help others. Here’s to your good health!
