Breaking free from the burnout build up
Stress is a part of life. It’s inevitable. In fact, it’s essential. Research says that we need some stress to function in our day to day lives. If we don’t feel an element of stress we may feel unmotivated or even bored. Stress can be a motivating force that pushes us to get through challenges and complete tasks. However its a fine balance, if we’re not careful and aware of our stress levels it can be all too easy for this helpful stress to tip over into an unhelpful strain. If we don’t register this and take action we risk burning out.
Sometimes stress creeps up on us. Work gets a little busier, a few more deadlines, a busy time of the year, commitments outside of work increase and that’s before even considering all the daily things we each balance on top of all of that. It can be a lot! But somehow, we don’t notice the little changes and increases. Our brains give us lots of reasons why we “should” be able to cope and how “others are doing so much more”. We start to skip breaks, work longer hours just to get things done and tell ourselves “I’ll feel better tomorrow if I get this done”…….. Sound familiar?
It is so easy to fall into this pattern but the problem is the knock on effect to our home lives, we can’t switch off as easily and then maybe our sleep is more disrupted. We might be so tired from work that we don’t make plans to do the things we enjoy or see the people we love as much. Even after sleep we might not feel rested and feel exhausted when we wake up, it takes more time to get going when we start work and we feel less productive, work takes even longer so we work late to make up for it and before we know it we are stuck in cycle of burnout. There is less joy outside of work and even less inside work with seemingly no way out. But there is a way out!
In my role as a Clinical Psychologist I have worked with many different people in many different sectors all telling me their version of this story. This cycle can slowly start to sap the joy out of people’s lives and they lose the passion they had for a job they once loved. Sometimes they can feel the only option is to take time out or leave their job and yes these are important options to consider but they are by no means the only option. More importantly, unless time is taken to understand what led to being burnt out this cycle is likely to play out again and again.
As an individual the key is to start becoming more attuned with our own stress levels.
What are our triggers?
What are the early warning signs?
What needs to change?
Sometimes it can be about going back to basics;
Do you notice changes in your sleep? Your diet? Your activity?
Do you drop the things that keep you well?
Are there particular times of the year that you find tough? Can you plan and be proactive?
There are lots of aspects to staying well and you probably already know quite a lot of them! So it’s important to allow yourself time to think about these factors.
An important question I ask people is to think about what might get in the way of using those things that you know help. An example of this could be knowing that you can talk to your manager but often people don’t until things are starting to get on top of them. The barrier can be our thoughts “what will they think of me?” “they’ll think I can’t do my job or don’t deserve this promotion” and a hundred other thoughts that stop us seeking help. There are lots of ways I work with people to give themselves some awareness and space from these thoughts and a really helpful questions you can ask yourself in this situation is “what would I say to a friend or loved one in the same situation?” I love using this question in sessions as I often get a look of “oh yes very clever…”. I get it, it’s an annoying trick of a question, I would give the look as well if I were asked it! Mainly because deep down we know what the fair and compassionate approach would be, the approach we frequently apply to others but not always ourselves. Asking yourself this question allows you to step away from unhelpful thoughts, notice that we are not being fair or kind (or sometimes even rational!) towards ourselves and question why is that? Maybe it’s time to change?
As business owners, leaders or any other person who has the responsibility for fellow humans you can play an important role in supporting people to manage their stress levels. You provide the environment and impact the culture and this is crucial. This again starts with awareness and asking yourself a few key questions:
Would I know if my team were under intense stress?
Would they tell me if they were?
What is the impact if I am unaware and people do not feel safe to tell me?
This article is the first in a series about understanding burnout within businesses and what we can do. Our passion is supporting businesses to support the well-being of their teams in a way that truly makes a difference as we know how life changing this can be for not only the individual but the places they work. Follow our blog or contact us to find out more.
Written by Steph