The insidious growth of burnout

2021 will be remembered as the year after the pandemic broke out.

It was also the year of the vaccine and one where the world hoped this ‘thing’ would end. But it didn’t.

The year was coloured by continued uncertainty, the varying trajectories of social and economic recovery and an extension of the polarization of the workplace.

Organisations were consequently pushed to persist with whatever proportion of remote working they could work with. Many companies led by example declaring extended WFH for most of their staff, some even pledging to make it a permanent option.

However, the exile from office started to take root and people embodied their WFH identity that much more. With the lines between work and home getting blurred further, burnout started to emerge as the new pandemic. By June 2021, a Gallup research reported 74% of employees having experienced burnout on the job at least sometimes.

But what is burnout?

The WHO classifies burnout as an ‘Occupational Phenomenon’ in its International Classification of Diseases. It is defined as 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

• Reduced professional efficacy

So, what?

The greater threat of burnout beyond these symptoms is an erosion of potential.

Continued burnout could lead to stunted growth or an (almost) irreversible loss of possibility. Being robbed of who we can be is the worst tragedy one could face and is also at the heart of the Great Resignation.

The insidious growth of burnout

The characterization of these dimensions presents a significant turn to the conversations around burnout.

The first of the three dimensions is well acknowledged and discussed eloquently in wellness forums.

The second, is usually diagnosed as an employee engagement issue and therefore dealt with as a seasonal disturbance (if an employee missed a promotion or didn’t get a good raise, they can sulk).

The third, is not even a distant relative. It is seen as a symptom of poor performance and therefore something that needs a fix from the long avenue of correction.

Now, WHO considers all of these as phenomena (which means they are real, not just intellectual or emotional constructs) and, they could be affecting a person simultaneously.

I saw tell tale signs of this with a client I was working with who was struggling to manage his team. His issue was the arbitrary sloppiness that showed up with annoying regularity for a couple of his employees. As a bonus, they could also be cynical and negative. However, because they didn’t seem to (or say) that they were exhausted or depleted, burnout wasn’t even considered as a possibility that might be affecting them. Instead, the conversations were around how to fix these employees and correct their behaviour, as their steadfastness was driving my client headfirst into the pit of depletion.

This.

My client feeling burnt out was another revelation from Gallup’s study. Over the course of 2021, stress and anxiety levels remained high for managers -- but declined for individual contributors and leaders.

Managers are bearing the brunt

Diagnosed depression increased for managers in 2021 but was relatively unchanged for individual contributors and project managers and declined for leaders.

What does that mean?

1. Managers may be facing burnout more severely than others

2. They may not know it (unless they are feeling exhausted or depleted) and,

3. Consequently, they may also not recognize it in others

On the knife edge

The manager burnout phenomenon seems fairly intuitive given how managers are sandwiched more than ever between the organisation’s agenda and caring for their team.

Picture this: You are a people manager. You call one of your team members to get an update on an important deliverable. You find out his/her child is unwell and the employee is totally consumed by it. What do you do?

While this is a scenario one faced before the pandemic too, the interpretation of the word 'unwell' in today's times, the extended WFH and lack of social connection makes it a much more convoluted puzzle to navigate. More often than not, managers are likely to take an empathic route and absorb the stress of the delayed deliverable themselves, backing themselves into a helpless corner.

What happens next? Definitely a longer work day, possibly another difficult conversation with the boss and sometimes (perhaps regretfully), unloading on another employee or worse, a family member.

The knife edge of empathy and expectations - this is the epicentre of the polarized workplace.

Walking on this knife edge might well be an everyday experience for many managers; torn between conflicting priorities and challenged by a rapidly depleting sense of purpose.

What is causing burnout?

Unlike popular belief, excessive workload is not the only factor that leads the WFH employee (or manager) to burnout. In fact, the lack of it could contribute just as much. Besides workload and manager support, the biggest factor cited as a cause for burnout is unfair treatment at work.

Our assessment of fairness goes beyond the usual suspects of compensation, biases and favouritism. Faced with an isolating work environment, unfairness can be perceived in the not-so-obvious places such as the kind of assignments given, level of challenge presented, degree of expectation etc. While managers might believe they are being considerate by lowering someone’s workload, it can trigger unexpected reactions in the employee, which may include unfair treatment (“I don’t like being given a lower workload just because I’m a mother”) if not validated appropriately.

Stopping burnout is about rekindling relationships

Stopping burnout starts with acceptance.

If you are a people manager, you need to start with yourself first. Today might be a good day to step off the autopilot and look long and hard in the mirror.

Once you acknowledge your own position, seek help where you need it. Do not be afraid to poke the bear. In fact, it could be the best thing you could do for yourself this year.

When you are interacting with others, learn to spot the signs of a possible burnout. Remember, even sloppiness, lacking attention to details, missing meetings – any of these could be signs of something more. Regardless, taking the time to have a ‘no agenda’ conversation could be the best new year’s gift for your team member.

How can organisations respond?

At an organisational level, it is critical to review the structural dynamics of the workplace and how it may be set up to prevent (or perpetuate) burnout, especially for your top talent. A good place to start could be exploring the vast territory of untapped potential that may be lying around in places you would least expect. All it might take is for someone to ask a seemingly innocuous question.

About a decade ago, my coach asked me something like that.

“Are you tired?”

That hit me like a ton of bricks.

It was a question no one had asked me until then and, was the one place I always avoided going to. That was the day I accepted the exhaustion of trying to be right all the time.

Today, addressing burnout at an organisational or individual level is an issue that Somajna is committed to, with interventions designed for the evolving workplace.

While 2021 went by as the ‘year that could have been’, this year might be an opportunity to accept ‘what is’ and one we can colour in our own imperfect ways.