The term “burnout” has become part of our everyday jargon as people adjust to living in a pandemic-ridden world.
Now that millions of people have been working from home for the first time, more have experienced the impact that burnout can have on their everyday lives.
According to Christina Maslach of University of California, Berkeley and Michael Leiter at Saint Mary’s University, overwork and lack of resources are major factors that contribute to burnout.
“We should be trying to identify and analyze the critical components of ‘bad’ situations in which many good people function,” said Maslach. “Imagine investigating the personality of cucumbers to discover why they had turned into sour pickles without analyzing the vinegar barrels in which they had been submerged.”
Burnout means more than increased stress levels. On the contrary, someone experiencing burnout can see such a negative mental health decline that can directly impact their financial standing and physical health.
Those who are at high risk of burning out are those who are self-described “workaholics”, a workplace that lacks communication, lack of personal coping skills and much more.
So how can organizations help workers reduce their risk of burning out? For starters, it is important to review managerial behavior and whether it is supporting and nurturing work culture.
Every person is living through a once-in-a-lifetime experience at the moment, and focusing heavily on short-term metrics without any semblance of empathy is counterproductive.
