On burnout

Knowledge work is akin to being an athlete; the ideal cycle involves “training, sprinting, resting, and then reassessing.” However, there are times when we just can’t muster the physical or mental resources needed to step up.

Burnout can sometimes be a key reason behind this struggle.

It’s crucial that if you find yourself feeling this way, you allow yourself to “meet yourself where you’re at”. Pushing yourself beyond your limits is one thing; pushing yourself when you’re at zero is simply counter-productive.

Reasons for burnout

There are plenty of theories and explanations on why burnout happens. The one that has resonated for me vs. my personal experience and in my role in helping staff and leaders is the following:

Burnout is the refusal of our body and our mind to mobilize to a stressful situation

• You cannot generate the mental resources to overcome the stressful situation one is in
• The feeling of lack of motivation comes from a flatlining of cortisol
• Cortisol is normal in the morning to get us out of bed to do things
• However, too much stress depletes the capacity for a stress response over time
• When our stress response flatlines, it’s the ultimate manifestation of over-stress in our lives
• The body dials down the ability for you to be productive as a response to this situation

Special note: For neurodivergent profiles, this may not apply. For some people, there is an acute inability for the parasympathetic nervous system to down-regulate cortisol, which can lead to an ever increasing level of stress with no method to provide relief to the mind and body. In these cases, one of the only ways to mitigate the situation is to step away from the environment entirely. A good resource on the differences in stress response can be found here.

How can you tell if you’re experiencing burnout?

Even given its potentially extreme effects, it’s not always obvious to oneself or to a team member that one is experiencing burnout. Burnout is probably happening if you yourself feel, or see the following in your team:

Chronic stress + paired with:

• Cynicism; negative attitude that is in everything we do
• Unproductive, feel as though what we’re doing doesn’t make a difference
• Exhausted; there is nothing left in the tank to make a difference
• Dread; the feeling of dread to go back to work
• Lack of Empathy; either a lack of empathy to others or to one’s self

If the hair on the back of your neck just stood up while reading this, or as a manager you have seen this in your teams, it may be a signal to explore the topic further.

Why do we experience burnout?

Excessive workload is not the only reason for burnout, even though it features prominently in most management responses. Burnout is often mistakenly seen as something the employee is exclusively responsible for; that doing a yoga class or taking time off will magically defeat the burnout monster.

While workload can be a reason for burnout, this is not the primary cause. Burnout is most often caused by the persistent feeling of being blocked from doing a good job by the system, processes, perceived unfairness, lack of control, poor incentives, lack of a restorative community, inability to express value (or being at odds with our values), and then, of course, workload.

Ten factors of burnout

Personally, having fought the burnout beast in the past and lost, I now follow a self-inventory protocol where I regularly check in with myself across ten factors that need to be healthy to avoid burnout.

• Health: How is the job impacting your health directly or indirectly.
• Stress: The amount of stress acutely derived from the role itself.
• Time: The impact on your available time beyond responsible moderation.
• Safety: Tied to rewards; the long term ability to live after this era.
• Workload: How much work we have on our plate.
• Rewards: Whether we’re rewarded fairly (monetarily, social, recognition).
• Control: Whether we feel we have control over the when/where/how of our work.
• Community: The less community, the more likely we are to feel burnt-out.
• Fairness: Fairness in what is happening to you and those around you.
• Value: Whether we feel as though we can manifest our value / values at work.

This is where burnout starts to incubate, in these areas. It doesn’t have to be all of them, each person is different and each area could simply be so messed up that it drowns out everything else.

As mentioned before, for a variety of reasons it’s also sometimes not self-evident. You can try to track your feelings on this in regards to morale. I use a very simple red/green system which I “walk” with reflections on how things are going across the ten areas, sum them up, and then reflect on whether action is required:

Example of walking the burnout self-inventory template

🟩 Health

• 🟢 Started a new yoga routine, surprisingly effective.
• 🟢 Discovered the healing power of essential oils; placebo or not, I’ll take it.
• 🟢 Found a posture-correcting chair; it’s a game-changer.
• 🟢 Took up meditation; inner peace unlocked.
• 🔴 Accidentally pulled a muscle while reaching for a snack.
• 🔴 Developed a “Zoom hunch” from too many virtual meetings.

🟨 Stress

• 🟢 Discovered mindfulness apps; they’re surprisingly effective.
• 🟢 Joined a virtual meditation group; it’s my new chill zone.
• 🔴 Stress-eating has reached a new level; my pantry’s empty.
• 🔴 My to-do list is so long, it’s got its own gravitational pull.

🟨 Time

• 🟢 Automated some tasks; got a few minutes back in my day.
• 🟢 Mastered the Pomodoro Technique; productivity is up.
• 🔴 Realized I don’t have enough time for family, friends, or hobbies anymore.
• 🔴 Calendar so packed, even my free time needs a schedule.

🟥 Safety

• 🟢 Company quarterly reports show steady growth; looks like the ship’s not sinking yet.
• 🟢 Mentor at work is high up the ladder; got a guardian angel looking out for me.
• 🔴 Rumors of downsizing; time to update that LinkedIn profile?
• 🔴 No updates on the 401(k) matching program; retirement’s looking like a pipe dream.
• 🔴 Career development program got axed; so much for climbing the ladder.
• 🔴 Management more lost than a GPS in a tunnel; not a good sign for long-term stability.

🟥 Workload

• 🟢 Hired an intern; workload reduced by 2%.
• 🟢 Successfully delegated tasks; I’m basically a general now.
• 🔴 New project alert; goodbye, weekends.
• 🔴 Workload’s so heavy, my desk is starting to sag.
• 🔴 Just got assigned another “urgent” project; sleep is for the weak.

🟥 Rewards

• 🟢 Got a “Good Job” sticker; it’s the little things.
• 🟢 Received a LinkedIn endorsement from the CEO; I’m basically famous.
• 🔴 Company announced “Pizza Fridays,” but it’s gluten-free.
• 🔴 Bonus replaced with company swag; now I have 10 coffee mugs.
• 🔴 “Exposure” is now considered a form of payment; I can’t even.

🟩 Control

• 🟢 Mastered the art of saying “no”; feeling empowered.
• 🟢 Created a “Do Not Disturb” sign; it’s surprisingly effective.
• 🟢 Took control of meeting agendas; no more time-wasters.
• 🔴 Accidentally became the go-to person for printer issues.
• 🔴 Lost control of my inbox; it’s a jungle in there.

🟩 Community

• 🟢 Started a book club; we’re reading “How to Survive Corporate Life.”
• 🟢 Virtual happy hours; surprisingly not awkward.
• 🟢 Office pet day; morale is through the roof.
• 🔴 Office gossip reached a new level; it’s like a telenovela.
• 🔴 Team-building exercise turned into a meme war.

🟨 Fairness

• 🟢 Finally got that parking spot; it’s a win.
• 🟢 Transparent salary discussions; it’s a start.
• 🔴 Someone stole my lunch; trust is broken.
• 🔴 Mandatory fun days; feels like a trap.

🟩 Value

• 🟢 Became the office Excel guru; I have the power.
• 🟢 Helped solve a major issue; they should build a statue in my honor.
• 🟢 My skillset is in high demand; I’m the go-to problem solver.
• 🔴 My ideas got “tabled”; not sure if that’s good or bad.
• 🔴 My value is so high, I’m basically a corporate Bitcoin.

What if this isn’t the situation for me but I’m still not feeling 100%?

If even after a self-inventory you cannot find reasons why you might not be feeling your best, it’s important to recognize that your situation could be straight up physical. Thyroid issues, Sleep Apnea, or another underlying medical condition can often go undiagnosed for long periods of time and be a primary factor in being unable to rally oneself.

Advice is still the same, if you find yourself in this place, don’t tackle it alone. Whether you decide to keep your situation private or feel safe enough to raise your hand with your manager and/or HR, look at who is on your personal team to help.

Ultimately, I would hope we reach a place where you feel comfortable raising this with your manager/HR, as I believe it is our responsibility in leadership to ensure you have what you need to be able to be your best. However not everyone shares this same view when it comes to the line between personal and professional and I understand this.

Still, there are resources not connected to the management of the company that can be used, including mental health lines, doctors, and other.

I believe no one wakes up wanting to do a bad job. People want to do good work, but as the classic phrase goes; you can do anything, but you can’t do everything. And sometimes, maybe it’s just as important to recognize when you need to do nothing (or something, for yourself).