Burnout at work significantly impacts both individuals and organisations. It is essential to understand what burnout is, how it manifests, and what remedies can be implemented to address it.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion resulting from the accumulation of chronic and unresolved stress over time. The World Health Organization (WHO) characterises it as an “occupational phenomenon” resulting from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. It is characterised by:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion.
- Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job.
- Reduced professional efficacy.
Burnout is not merely a workplace issue; it can also affect stay-at-home parents or caregivers due to the mounting stress of their roles. It can masquerade as depression and anxiety but is a distinct condition. The slow accumulation of stress can manifest physically, lowering immunity and causing neglect of healthy habits, further intensifying symptoms such as constant physical exhaustion.
Impact on Individuals
- Emotional and Physical Exhaustion: Burnout leads to a state where daily challenges feel insurmountable, and physical and mental exhaustion become constant.
- Reduced Control and Intelligence: Anxiety and depression, often associated with burnout, can reduce control levels and temporarily impair cognitive functions.
- Health Issues: Chronic stress from burnout can manifest in the body, affecting diet, sleep, and exercise habits.
- Procrastination and Paralysis: Feelings of overwhelm can lead to procrastination or cognitive shutdown.
- Loss of Motivation: Burnout can cause a loss of optimism, making individuals shrink from challenges and opportunities.
- Contagious Anxiety: Anxiety is contagious, and those around an anxious person may also begin predicting negative outcomes.
- Job Dissatisfaction: Burnout contributes to lower job satisfaction and overall reduced well-being.
Impact on Organisations
- Reduced Productivity: Burnout and anxiety can significantly interfere with workplace performance.
- Lower Morale: Employees experiencing limbic system issues, associated with depression, can negatively affect others’ morale and skew perceptions at work.
- Increased Sick Days: Depressed individuals take more sick days than those without depression.
- Contagious Anxiety: Anxiety in the workplace can spread, affecting the overall work environment.
- Difficulty in Implementing Change: In high-change environments, stressed employees may resist new strategies, impacting organisational effectiveness.
- Reduced Team Performance: Basal ganglia issues, associated with anxiety, can cause employees to be conflict-avoidant and require excessive supervision, negatively affecting the work group.
Effective Remedies for Burnout at Work
- Setting Healthy Boundaries:
- Work-Life Balance: Emphasise the importance of only working when paid and carving out personal time each day.
- Saying No: Respect personal limitations by declining extra work or requests, understanding that “No” is a complete sentence.
- Creating Space Between Work and Home Life:
- Transition Rituals: Intentionally wrap up daily responsibilities to prevent work concerns from intruding on personal time.
- CPR for the Amygdala: At the end of the workday, reflect on any lingering points of activation and address them.
- Cultivating Gratitude: Engage in reflection and activities that promote gratitude to connect with oneself.
- Building Resilience: Develop new habits that foster resilience to counteract burnout. Resilience can be built by creating a safe place electrochemically.
- Promoting Emotional Skills: Develop shared emotional and empathic skills within the workplace to help individuals deal with difficulties and understand each other.
- Improving Workplace Environment:
- Emotional Well-Regulation: Create emotionally well-regulated workplaces where empathy and caring are prioritised to support anxiety management.
- Task and Deadline Management: Balance task-focused and deadline-focused approaches to prevent overwork and burnout.
- Supportive Practices for Anxiety Professionals: Implement supportive practices such as providing reliability, stability, grounding, physical comfort, quiet, privacy, and humour.
- Solution-Focused Thinking: Focus on job satisfaction, relationships, and self-concept to address emotional arousal levels.
- Havening Techniques: A havening practitioner may use different types of Havening.
- Mindfulness: A havening practitioner may use mindfulness.
How an Anxiety Coach Can Help
An anxiety coach, particularly a havening practitioner, can assist organisations and individuals afflicted by burnout at work in several ways:
- Individual Support:
- Personalised Strategies: Coaches can help individuals identify their specific stressors and develop personalised coping strategies.
- Boundary Setting: Assist in setting and maintaining healthy boundaries between work and personal life.
- Stress Reduction Techniques: Teach and implement stress-reduction techniques, such as Havening, mindfulness, and relaxation exercises.
- Organisational Support:
- Workplace Assessments: Evaluate the emotional environment of the workplace and identify sources of stress and anxiety.
- Training Programs: Develop and implement training programs to improve emotional awareness, empathy, and communication skills among employees.
- Creating Supportive Environments: Advise on creating work environments that support emotional well-being and reduce the emotional demands on employees.
- Conflict Resolution: Facilitate conflict resolution and promote better communication strategies to reduce workplace tensions.
- Values Clarification: A havening practitioner may clarify client values as an alternative to managing anxiety.
- Mindfulness: A havening practitioner may teach individuals mindfulness techniques.
- Havening Techniques: A havening practitioner may use havening techniques to allow their client have a safe space electrochemically.
- Goal Setting: A havening practitioner may use goal setting to help with problem behaviour.
By addressing both individual and organisational factors, an anxiety coach can play a crucial role in preventing and alleviating burnout, fostering a healthier and more productive work environment.
Burnout at Work Summary
This report details the impact of burnout at work on both individuals and organisations. Burnout is characterised by emotional and physical exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy, stemming from chronic, unmanaged stress. Its impact ranges from individual health issues and reduced productivity to decreased morale and organisational effectiveness. Effective remedies include setting healthy boundaries, creating work-life balance, cultivating gratitude, building resilience, and fostering supportive workplace environments. An anxiety coach, especially a havening practitioner, can provide personalised strategies and training programs to address both individual and organisational needs, fostering a healthier and more productive work environment.
Tags: burnout at work, stress management, emotional well-being, workplace health, havening practitioner, anxiety coach, work-life balance, resilience, mindfulness