Condition your mind against burnout
Burnout is mistaken as stress. Although the symptoms may be quite similar, there are significant differences. Symptoms of stress are more physical than emotional. Certain job functions with excessive workload and pressure can lead to burnout.
Freuden Berger initially introduced Burnout in the early 70s. He described burnout as a state of fatigue or frustration resulting from professional relationships which failed to produce the expected rewards.
Later, maslach defined burnout as a psychological syndrome involving emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and reduced personal accomplishment. The emotional exhaustion was also described as wearing out, loss of energy, depletion, debilitation, and fatigue. Depersonalization was described as negative or inappropriate attitudes towards clients, irritability, loss of idealism, and withdrawal. The reduced personal accomplishment and was described as reduced productivity or capability, low morale, and an inability to cope.
In an article written by Jennifer Moss, titled, “Burnout Is About Your Workplace, Not Your People,” Moss emphasized that the cause of the burnout is not an individual problem, but is directed at the organization and its leaders. Jennifer also noted that poor hygiene factors can cause a major distraction. Burnout happens when certain presupposed features which once started becomes missing or deleted.
However, due to the dynamic nature of the organization, a leader has multiple roles to perform. Also in a growing team, a leader has to adapt to a new style of leadership because there are more decisions to make, more important issues to address, more relationship-building exercises has to be planned. It is therefore sometimes difficult to focus on the individual, but the task can be delegated to people managers who can often check the emotional health of employees and take precautions before anyone begins to have a feeling of burnout.
Built on the concept of positive psychology, overcoming burnout requires an individual to take initiatives and make their lives better. There are some ways to deal with burnout.
Carry a Positive Mindset
Positivity is not about just being cheerful, but about bringing a positive perspective about life. Ultimately it is the mind that controls our body, and you have to keep nourishing it. Train your mind to think positive. Practising meditation, and getting involved in sports can decrease stress and anxiety. Sometimes treat yourself to something special and mingle with people with a positive mind.
Build your brand
Build an online presence, prepare an elevator pitch and engage in networking. Sometimes the most exciting project happens outside the workplace. Find a side project to feel accomplished, it can recharge your batteries and give a sense of accomplishment. Meeting new people, solving new challenges can broaden your perspective.
Practice Self-motivation
Tagore a renowned Bengali poet composed a song that says, “If there is no one responding to your call, then go on all alone”. Self-motivation can be triggered by controlling negative thoughts and restoring positivity to life, becoming persistent and developing good habits. An essential way to move towards self-motivation is to understand that life is not permanent and that one should not be afraid to do things that can give a sense of joy. Also, when you start something new, get deeper into it and experience the finer elements. Build a passion to explore the world, there’s still a lot to be learned.
Look for a mentor
Finding a mentor in life is easy, but finding the right one is hard. In my previous article, “I do strategy everyday” I stressed upon the point that mentoring is not about teaching craft and tools, it is about guiding someone in the right direction and showing them the best path forward in a given situation.
Be passionate
As Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. “I like to” and “I love to” do are the two extreme thoughts. I like to do comes out of a habit. I love to do provokes you to break the barriers and think out of the box. By being passionate about what you do can give you a sense of purpose.
Conclusion
The WHO now officially recognizes burnout, but the responsibility for managing burnout syndromes has shifted to organisations. There are two aspects to this, one is handling yourself and not allowing you to be destroyed by burnout, and the other is creating an organizational plan to combat burnout syndromes. We leaders and individual should be equally responsible for fighting out the burnout syndrome.
References
https://www.bridgestoeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/BOIT_theoretical_abstract_2705.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2700194/
