First things first, Burnout is real. 

In our society, hustle culture is baked into the way we operate so we've been conditioned to minimize it. In the current workplace, there tends to be an expectation of being always on, always striving for perfection and profit above all things. Decades of this traditional way of working is taking its toll and burnout is the result.

Burnout is more than being tired or overwhelmed. 

DEFINITION

Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;

• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and

• reduced professional efficacy.

Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.

ORIGIN/BACKGROUND

The term “burnout” was coined in the 1970s by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. He used it to describe the consequences of severe stress and high ideals in “helping” professions. Doctors and nurses, for example, who sacrifice themselves for others, would often end up being “burned out” – exhausted, listless, and unable to cope.

In 2019, the World Health Organization officially classified burnout as a syndrome as a result of workplace conditions. The importance of this syndrome designation is that it catalyzes the global health community to identify its causes and develop guidelines to prioritize mental well-being in the workplace.

KEY STATS

• 52% of employees report that they are experiencing burnout compared to 43% of employees in pre-Covid times (Indeed)

• 61% of remote workers and 53% of on-site workers now find it more difficult to “unplug” from work during off-hours. (Indeed)

• 39% of workers check emails outside of regular work hours every day. Only 6% of virtual workers say they “never” check emails after hours. (Indeed)

• Workplace stress results in nearly $190 billion — roughly 8% of national healthcare spending — and nearly 120,000 deaths each year. (Stanford)

• Burned out employees are 2.6 times as likely to be actively seeking a different job, 63% more likely to take a sick day, and 23% more likely to visit the emergency room. (American Psychology Assocation)

“Human Giver Syndrome”
In the book Down Girl, author Kate Manne describes a system where one class of people, the "human givers" are expected to give their time, attention, affection and bodies willingly, placidly to the other class of people, the "human beings."

Human giver syndrome results in the false belief that the"human givers" have a moral obligation to be pretty, happy, calm, generous, and attentive to the needs of others – while the "human beings" have a moral obligation to be competitive, acquisitive, and infallible.  

Stress response cycle
Understanding our biological responses to stress is key to addressing burnout. Our brains are 40,000 years old and 40,000 years ago the main goal of the brain was to keep us alive in the face of threats. Survival. 

In 2021, our brain hasn't changed as much as you might believe -- our response to negative experiences can mirror a response that our ancestors would have had to a lion attack. 

The first part is something I'm sure you've heard about in some fashion before -- the fight or flight response to a threat.

There are a few additional lesser known responses to take into consideration as well, flock, freeze and fawn. 

• Flocking is our initial default behavior in response to a potential threat, it is to look to others for clues as to what is going on. Think of how deers flock in response to a potential predator or unfamiliar noise. 

• Freezing is what it sounds like, you stop in your tracks to gather more information and assess the next move. From flocking and freezing, we move to the fight or flight. 

• Fawning is an action that tends to occur for people with past experiences of trauma and it involves immediately moving to try to please a person/threat to avoid any conflict. 

It's not you, it's the systems we're operating in

Finally if you are finding yourself feeling like your burnout is your fault, check out the top five reasons for workplace burnout (Gallup):

1. Unfair treatment at work

2. Unmanageable workload

3. Lack of role clarity

4. Lack of communication and support from their manager

5. Unreasonable time pressure

Podcast series: Surviving & Thriving After Burnout

Exacerbated by the pandemic, we are hitting a new level of collective burnout that so many of us are feeling on various levels. So in this six-part series I offer six tips mentioned above with some tangible coaching exercises, examples and insights that I hope help you if you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and burnt out.

Additional Relevant Articles, Books & Other Resources

• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Amelia Nagoski & Emily Nagoski

• Down Girl by Kate Mann

• What Happened to You by Oprah Winfrey & Dr. Bruce Perry

• Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People (HBR)

• How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation (BuzzFeed)

• Podcast: Unlocking Us with Brene Brown featuring Amelia & Emily Nagoski