What is burnout?

Burnout results when employees experience negative stress over a prolong period of time.

Employees experience stress as either a positive or a negative influence upon them. It is up to each employee to interpret the stress he or she experiences as being helpful (positive) or unhelpful (negative).

For example, you can have two employees each with the same job assignments and deadlines. One employee may experience these job assignments and deadlines, i.e., stress, positively, and is likely to feel motivated, energized, and excited. These positive emotions are likely to motivate the employee to put in the extra work and hours to do their best work. When the employee has finished the project, he or she is likely to feel a strong sense of accomplishment.

The employee who interprets the job assignments and deadlines, i.e., stress, negatively, is likely to feel instantly overwhelmed, irritable, and worried. The negatively stressed employee is likely to put the same amount of work into the job assignments as the positive employee, but because the negative stressed employee is being motivated by negative emotions, he or she will feel drained of energy at the completion of the project. After experiencing prolonged negative stress, employees are likely to develop burnout.

Why should I care whether an employee is experiencing job burnout?

1.) Employees who are most likely to develop burnout are your best employees. Your highly productive employees are the most prone to develop burnout because they put more of themselves into their job, spend more time at work, and take work more seriously and personally. In other words, employees who develop burnout are employees who care about their jobs.

2.) The employee who is experiencing burnout, is likely to be the last one to recognize it. Once it is recognized, a burnt-out employee is likely to first do all the wrong actions to correct it. For instance, the burnt-out employee is likely to increase the amount of time spent at work, become even more personally involved in their work, and increase the amount of effort he or she puts into their job. These methods of coping are likely to only make the problem worse and not better because the burnt-out employee is attempting to outperform their stress. Employees who attempt to outperform their stress usually end up feeling discouraged and quit altogether at some point. When this occurs, the employer has lost one of their best employees.

3.) Employees who report experiencing a high level of stress are three times more likely to suffer from frequent illness. The experience of burnout is a stressful event in and of itself, so an employee who is burnt-out has not only the original stress to deal with but also the stress of being burnt-out.

4.) Burnout is a relatively easy problem to resolve. It usually does not require formal counseling, medication, or a trip to the family doctor. It is also possible to recover from a mild case of burnout within a few days. If your burnt-out employee has not resolved their burnout within a week or two, he or she may not be experiencing burnout at all, but a case of depression. Burnout symptoms can mimic the symptoms of clinical depression. One way to tell the difference is to ask the employee if their symptoms dissipate once he or she is off work. Clinical depression symptoms are likely to be with the employee both on and off work time, and burnout symptoms are likely to dissipate once the employee is off work.

How can I help an employee who is experiencing burnout?

1.) Create a work atmosphere that promotes balance. A balance between work and family, a balance between stressful and non-stressful tasks, a balance between tasks that demand deadlines and those that do not.

2.) Create job diversity for employees that must perform repetitive tasks. Cross training employees is not only good for employees, but also for the company. Hence, if an employee must take an extended leave, others are there that know how to perform his or her duties.

3.) Allow employees to develop control over some aspects of their work. One way to decrease burnout is to increase the amount of control that employees have over their jobs. Employees who feel they have a choice in what they are doing, even if it is a small choice, are more likely to feel better about what they are doing. So, think of where small choices can be added to an employee's job.

4.) Allow humor and fun to take place in the workplace. A local company, that a friend of mine worked for, rented out a movie theater once a month so all their employees could watch as many movies as they wanted to for a day. Their employees went back to work feeling cared about and more energetic. Your company may not need to rent a movie theater; the point is, a good way to burn off stress and to re-energize employees is with fun and laughter. In fact, it may be the best way.

5.) Allow employees to chat at work. Chatting about non-work related events is one way in which employees can decrease and prevent burnout at work.

6.) Allow employees periods of low productivity along with periods of high productivity. It is okay to ask your employees to give 110% occasionally but not everyday. So make sure that your company is staffed appropriately and provides personal leave and vacation benefits.

7.) Remember to recognize and reward employees for their accomplishments and contributions.

If you are experiencing burnout, you are likely to be burnt-out by how you are coping with the stress in your job. Hence, it is extremely important to learn how to change any negative stress that you feel into either a neutral or positive force in your life.

Five ways you can change negative stress into a neutral or a positive experience; thus, preventing or ridding yourself of burnout.

1.) Change the way you interpret a stressful event. You can change how you interpret an event by changing how you think about the event. For example, instead of saying, “I can’t do this, it won’t work out.” It is better to say, “I will break this project down into small steps and talk with my boss later to negotiate more time.” Even a slight changing in how you “choose” to evaluate an event, will greatly decrease the amount of negative stress you feel. Try to eliminate words and phrases such as, “I hate,” “I can’t stand it,” “no way,” etc...etc... Make a list of those negative words or phrases that you most often use, then notice them each time they are said, and replace them with a more neutral word or phrase.

2.) Work to have fun at work. You do not need to throw a party, but you can have fun by talking with a co-worker, listening to music, and by just increasing those tasks that you do enjoy at work. Attempt to complete tasks that you do not enjoy right away, so you don’t think about them all day long. If you honestly cannot find anything you enjoy about your work, you might not be experiencing burnout at all, but a true feeling of needing a new job.

3.) Work to create job diversity for yourself. Routines can easily lead to boredom. So add some job diversity to your day; for example, ask to change your start time, redecorate your cube, and ask to take on new job tasks. Do not ask to take on additional busy work, but ask to take on a new work assignment you think you will enjoy.

4.) Use your creativity. Look at the work you are doing and think about how to modify it or improve upon it in a creative way. Take your creative ideas to your supervisor, and tell him or her that they may increase productivity or save the company money.

5.) Take control over your job. If you need permission to take control, ask you employer to take a risk by allowing you to take control over your job for one week to see if your productivity increases. If they will not allow complete control, ask for control only over one small aspect of your job. Then slowly ask for more and more until you have as much as you want.