The World Health Organization has identified burnout as chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
Three dimensions characterize burnout:
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 means essentially not feeling like we're good in our roles or we don't have the resources to do our jobs.
Unsustainable workloads have always been, and continue to be, the leading cause of burnout. We have this idea that more hours of work equals getting more work done. This is such an unfortunate myth. The truth is that working more than 10 hours a day is associated with a 60% jump in risk of cardiovascular issues, and working more than 40 hours a week is associated with unhealthy weight gain in men and depression in women. Plus, science has proven that very little productive work actually occurs after 50 hours per week. Those who work 60 hours per week have a 23% higher risk of injury.
So, how do you spot the signs that your team may have unsustainable workloads? We need to check if employees are struggling to disconnect.
Our job as leaders is to monitor overwork and advocate for our leadership team to have more space, time, and support so that they can achieve their goals sustainably.
According to Jennifer Moss, an award-winning journalist and author of the book The Burnout Epidemic, there are six root causes of burnout:
Overwork. Overwork is defined as working too hard, too much, for too long, or all of the above. Unsustainable workloads have always been, and continue to be, the leading cause of burnout.
Lack of Control. It can show up when we feel an inability to influence decisions that affect our jobs, like our schedule, which assignments we get to work on, our workload, and the resources we have access to.
Lack of Rewards for Effort. We see persistent pay gaps across the global workforce, and not only is it unfair, but it leads to burnout. When someone on our team feels underpaid, it doubles the probability that they will report experiencing stress, depression, and problems with emotions on a majority of days in any given month. Underpayment increases complaints of headaches, stomach, back, and chest pain. All of this affects sleep quality. Underpayment also hurts because it amplifies other stresses, such as interpersonal conflict and having too much work and not enough time to focus on simply enjoying life.
Lack of Community. When we have healthy, productive workplace relationships, it offers huge benefits. According to Gallup, having a best friend at work makes us 43% more likely to receive praise, 27% more likely to feel like we can speak up, which promotes psychological safety. And our burnout is reduced by 41%.
Lack of Fairness. Fairness at work, or organizational justice, is a key element in preventing burnout. When there's a lack of fairness, it reduces morale, and several studies have found that it can actually cause depression. A truly fair workplace requires trust, openness, and respect. If any of these three key elements are missing, it will contribute directly to burnout.
Value-Skill Mismatch. Hiring someone whose values and goals do not align with the values and goals of the organization's culture has negative consequences for the individual and the company. They include increased physical and mental exhaustion and stress, low morale within the team, lack of motivation, low productivity or unsatisfactory work, increased costs for hiring and training, and higher turnover.
Here are four strategies for burnout prevention:
Active listening for burnout signals: As a leader, Dr. Martha Bird believes that by practicing empathetic listening, we can learn so much about our people, their history, their fears, their motivators, and their joys, and we can only get there by sharing stories and listening with interest and then passing on those stories. Dr. Bird says that we need to be professional eavesdroppers. Keeping non-work-related check-ins is a good practice. The frequency could vary from person to person; someone may need weekly meetings, and monthly will be fine for others.
Manage Team Workload. We just have to press pause, assess which habits are worth keeping, and identify the ones that need to stop. Look at priority alignment and ensure you and your team are on the same page. Make agreements about what is urgent and the time to answer that you expect. Make sure everyone is working on their number one priority objectives.
Encourage your Team to Speak up. Invite people to the table and encourage them to speak up. In healthy and innovative cultures, different opinions are celebrated. Amy Edmondson, Professor at Harvard Business School, says, "Psychological safety refers to a climate in which people are comfortable being and expressing themselves."
Lead by example. Great managers love to lead, and the best way to do so is by example. If we really care about preventing burnout, we need to be models of self-care.
Addressing and preventing burnout in the workplace is imperative for maintaining a healthy and productive team. Paying attention to signs of burnout, like too much work and feeling not appreciated, and taking action, is key.
We all have the opportunity as leaders to make a real impact in people's lives. We can show genuine interest, empathy, and compassion, and be open to sharing that we want to improve. Even if we make mistakes, we can learn from them and improve as a team. When we show genuine care, we make all the difference.