The Interplay of Burnout, Gaslighting, and Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
By Robin Stern
Burnout is one of the top trends that will shape the workplace this year, according to a recent story by CNBC. This proliferation is especially concerning in a tight labor market. Unemployment remains low, employers are experiencing increasing attrition, and the war on talent continues to wage — all while a recession looms.
Burnout is a multi-faceted beast, fed by toxic experiences like gaslighting. But it can be tamed. Let’s explore the many aspects of burnout in the workplace today, including its causes, impacts, and some potential remedies.
What causes burnout in today’s workplace?
I had the honor of interviewing Dr. Michelle McQuaid, best-selling author and workplace wellbeing expert, for my podcast. Dr. McQuaid is renowned for translating the latest research on positive psychology into practical actions that build resilience, performance, and happiness in the workplace.
McQuaid’s research with more than 1000 Australian workers last fall uncovered that 60 percent of workers sometimes or often feel burned out at work. The survey came on the heels of the new international standards around mental health and wellbeing in workplaces that Australia released in 2021. Called ISO 4503, this code of practices is becoming legislation in some states, meaning employers can now be fined if they are not taking the steps to identify and protect employees from experiencing certain dangers in the workplace that lead to burnout.
The standards define 14 workplace mental health and wellbeing hazards that can result in significant stress and burnout. McQuaid’s research showed that the top three hazards causing such burnout are
· unachievable job demands
· poor relationships
· harassment
One of the most fascinating discoveries is how intricately gaslighting is wrapped into the second two hazards. The workers reported that harassment at work often took on the form of gaslighting. For example, a co-worker told them they were too sensitive, couldn’t take a joke, or were being too serious.
McQuaid explains: “Often the power dynamics people might be experiencing with their boss, colleagues, or even societal expectations that come in the workplace can make harassment take the form of gaslighting day to day.”
What is the impact of burnout?
I define the experience of burnout like this: “When we feel stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed for a period of time — or when we feel out of control — we become exhausted. After a while, we begin to ‘burnout.’” If you are burnt out, you might feel the following:
· Less patient and more irritable
· Cynical
· Alienated or disillusioned
· Less fulfilled or satisfied with your job
· Apathetic
· Exhausted
Additionally, many people self-soothe through burnout by sleeping, eating, or drinking too much. They might even feel physically ill, with increased headaches or stomachaches. Burnout is more than just stress. It is like someone is running on an empty gas tank for a prolonged period, with no end in sight. It is not a positive outcome of hard work and productivity, but rather a detrimental condition for one’s body and mind.
Many people assume if they are engaged in their work and like what they do, they can’t possibly experience burnout. Research conducted over the last years at Yale University revealed quite the opposite: One in five surveyed employees is burned out but engaged and productive at work. For these folks, burnout is a feeling of depletion; they are exhausted, overworked, have a love/hate relationship with work, and experience a lack of support.
What can we do about burnout?
How do we address the burnout epidemic in workplaces across the globe? My colleagues and I believe the answer lies in building emotionally intelligent organizations and developing EI skills for workers. Psychological safety is the undercurrent for how organizations, leaders, and employees bolster themselves against burnout — and leaders need EI skills and practices to build those organizations.
The role of the organization. A September 2022 Frontiers in Psychology article published findings from recent research on the correlation between EI in the workplace and burnout. Authors Zehavit Levitats, Zorana Ivcevic, and Marc Brackett found the need to approach EI from a macro-level perspective of organizational culture. The two-study research suggests there is a dynamic connection between EI-supported culture and EI-supported human resources management practices, and employee engagement and exhaustion.
This research suggests the importance for organizations to cultivate emotional intelligence on a systemic level. Creating a culture ripe with psychological safety is a good first step. McQuaid found that every one of the fourteen hazards was lowered when psychological safety was present for a worker.
The role of the leader. Center for Creative Leadership defines psychological safety as “the belief that you won’t be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. At work, it’s a shared expectation held by members of a team that teammates will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for sharing ideas, taking risks, or soliciting feedback.”
Leaders can create a more safe and caring working environment by exercising compassion with boundaries, appreciation for strengths, responsibility, and emotional wisdom.
The role of the employee. Within a psychologically safe workplace, employees can own their emotional intelligence by developing the skills needed to thrive. This includes practicing emotional boundaries in the workplace.
McQuaid says, “It’s much harder to gaslight somebody who feels safe in themselves, because they’re much less likely to get involved in that cycle of doubt about what is real and what is maybe made up and put on [them], and much quicker to call a boundary on those sorts of things.”
What about you? What is your experience of burnout, and has gaslighting been a part of that narrative? How has EI played a vital role in eradicating the potentially damaging impacts of burnout before they took root? I’d love to hear from you and learn more from your story.
For more about emotional intelligence in the workplace visit Oji Life Lab and for leading research, real-life stories, and practical tips about burnout, gaslighting, and emotional intelligence, check out my blog and listen to The Gaslight Effect podcast
