Big turnout for burnout

As part of AWC’s effort to honor Mental Health Awareness Month, we have the opportunity to share great information out of a standing-room-only session of the Healthy Worksite Summit. Mental Health is a big focus of the summit, and this year, attendees got a crash course from the incomparable Lindsay Lagreid on the topic of understanding and recovering from burnout. Lagreid is an award-winning consultant with certification in “Happiness Studies” and an MSc in Healthcare Innovation with seven years’ experience applying science and psychology to drive business transformation. AWC knows that our city employees—at all levels and stages of their careers—are some of the hardest working people, with goals and purpose that include improving the well-being of their communities. So if you, or your office, is struggling with the issue of burnout, here are some of the key take-aways from Lagreid’s presentation to consider.

What is burnout?

Well, for one thing, Lagreid says, it’s different from simply not liking your job. According to the CDC, burnout is caused by prolonged exposure to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job.

In fact, the five most common workplace stressors include: workload, time pressure, a lack of support, a lack of feedback, and values disconnection, (the organization says they value one thing, but acts in a different way).

Lagreid made the important point that burnout happens when a highly engaged employee begins to have low well-being. In other words, engagement is a pre-requisite. She shared that the opposite of engaged is not “burnout,” it’s dis-engaged—or the feeling of not wanting to be there. “What’s tragic,” Lagreid points out, “is that burnout is happening to our best people – our natural leaders and innovators. Six or twelve months later, those same people are brought low and now we don’t care if they stay or go.”

What does it look like – how does it happen?

The process is predictable and progresses in stages:

• Exhaustion
• Cynicism
• Inefficiency

Burnout can show up differently for different people. There may be more angry outbursts or adversarial we vs. them language. Someone may start drinking, may have home-life impacts, or may develop chronic conditions—because stress impacts our physical bodies. Others may show signs of depression, whether that’s being absent with colleagues or friends, doom scrolling, binge eating, or any number of other behaviors.

Lagreid also, importantly, points out that impacts aren’t evenly applied. Every person does not have the same 24 hours—ie; the same experiential reality. From single-moms, to people doing long commutes on public transportation, to those working multiple jobs, we can’t assume a standard day.

There is personal responsibility needed in responding to burnout. After all, it looks and feels like a personal problem—but it’s also an organizational responsibility. Luckily there are things each of us can do as individuals, as well as changes that we can approach organizationally.

Recovery from burnout

• Take the recovery time you need (or it’s likely your body will make you take that time).
• Establish a culture of honesty (ask real questions and answer honestly).
• Use emotional granularity (be very specific about your feelings. Lagreid suggests using the “feeling wheel”).
• When talking about your feelings, use language that’s active, e.g.; I am feeling…versus I am (which sounds more permanent). Active language choices tell us this is temporary.
• Avoid personal gaslighting. Validate your own feelings. Be honest about what’s going on for you.

Types of recovery

• Detachment (take a break, a real break, the right kind of break).
• Relaxation – leisure, low effort and enjoyable.
• Mastery – observing yourself being really good at something not related to your job. You are more than just your job.
• Developing hobbies and new skills.

Lagreid talked about the difference between what she called “runaway recovery,” which is occasional and both stressful to prepare for and to come back from. This kind of recovery doesn’t address the root causes of stress.

Instead, Lagreid recommends “rituals of recovery,” which can happen daily, in tandem with the practice of doing one thing at a time. She reminds us that re-wiring the brain takes time. If we focus on gratitude and optimizing and prioritizing self-care, then these rituals of recovery can help to integrate and create healthy boundaries and space. These are what can make every day better.

Rituals of recovery

• Establish a ritual for starting and ending the day. This can be most helpful for those who work from home. Do so with intention.

• Walk and talk—but no work talk.
• Take a wordle or app/game break.
• Do a regular well-being check-in.
• Start a daily gratitude practice.
• Do a daily crossword.
• Begin a coffee ritual.
• Consider a fun after or before-work class.

Remember your purpose

Beyond establishing new rituals, when we remember our purpose, and what we like about our work, we can leverage the powerful nuance between “I have to do something,” and “I get to do something.” In thinking about your work, and working to make real change, consider the following:

• What parts of your job energize you?
• What parts of your job deplete you?
• How do you need to be recognized?
• How has time gotten away from you?
• How do you prioritize your work?
• How is your role connected to the organizational mission?
• How are you personally connected to the organizational mission?
• Why did you decide to work where you did?

The outer world impacts all of us and addressing that in the work-place helps to foster trust. Asking important questions and establishing small rituals is a good place to start, not just as an individual, but as an organization or department. Even something as simple as reframing conversations using language of non-permanence and a culture of honesty can help improve burnout.  Here are a few organizational opportunities to consider:

• The “Rose, bud, thorn” game; a way to share and shift to gratitude thinking.
• Nomalizing feelings through simple ice breaker moments. E.g.; If your mood was the weather….
• Set a calendar space for a “bonfire” to feel and talk about something that’s happening externally.
• Practice autonomy, trust, and job crafting.
• Practice recognition.
• Practice connecting to purpose.
• Set a good example (e.g.; go on vacation and don’t check your phone).
• Be clear about after-hours expectations.
• Manage false urgency.
• Ask how your leaders and organization model good behaviors. This is a way to model recovery.
• When an employee or manager has a full plate, establish a process to address reprioritizing.

Employees and organizations alike should understand that burnout happens to our best people. Lagreid convincingly argues that recovery requires both short and long-term planning. It can’t be put off or run from. It must be changed. That change relies on rituals of recovery and mindset shifts, which we don’t often get permission to approach. Yet with small thoughtful changes, both employees and organizations can establish healthier work culture and help prevent burnout.