SOURCE: The following research on burnout was curated by LaShaune DeJean, a longtime administrative professional who kindly offered to help out. Thank you, LaShaune!
BURNOUT
According to the WHO, burnout is a specific occupational phenomena and should not be used as descriptors for other personal life events. The WHO is developing evidence-based guidelines surrounding mental health in the workplace.
It is now recognized as a billable health concern, ICD 11 code: QD85.
Description
Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: 1) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; 2) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and 3) reduced professional efficacy. Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.
Excludes:
Alienation from work-related activities: Individuals experiencing burnout view their jobs as increasingly stressful and frustrating. They may grow cynical about their working conditions and the people they work with. They may also emotionally distance themselves and begin to feel numb about their work.
Physical symptoms: Chronic stress may lead to physical symptoms, like headaches and stomachaches or intestinal issues.
Emotional exhaustion: Burnout causes people to feel drained, unable to cope, and tired. They often lack the energy to get their work done.
Reduced performance: Burnout mainly affects everyday tasks at work—or in the home when someone's main job involves caring for family members. Individuals with burnout feel negative about tasks. They have difficulty concentrating and often lack creativity.
Risk Factors
Unreasonable time pressure. Employees who say they have enough time to do their work are 70 percent less likely to experience high burnout. Individuals who are not able to gain more time, such as paramedics and firefighters, are at a higher risk of burnout.
Lack of communication and support from a manager. Manager support offers a psychological buffer against stress. Employees who feel strongly supported by their manager are 70 percent less likely to experience burnout on a regular basis.
Lack of role clarity. Only 60 percent of workers know what is expected of them. When expectations are like moving targets, employees may become exhausted simply by trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing.
Unmanageable workload. When a workload feels unmanageable, even the most optimistic employees will feel hopeless. Feeling overwhelmed can quickly lead to burnout.
Unfair treatment. Employees who feel they are treated unfairly at work are 2.3 times more likely to experience a high level of burnout. Unfair treatment may include things such as favoritism, unfair compensation, and mistreatment from a co-worker.
Evaluate your options. Discuss specific concerns with your supervisor. Maybe you can work together to change expectations or reach compromises or solutions. Try to set goals for what must get done and what can wait.
Seek support. Whether you reach out to co-workers, friends or loved ones, support and collaboration might help you cope. If you have access to an employee assistance program, take advantage of relevant services.
Try a relaxing activity. Explore programs that can help with stress such as yoga, meditation or tai chi.
Get some exercise. Regular physical activity can help you to better deal with stress. It can also take your mind off work.
Get some sleep. Sleep restores well-being and helps protect your health.
Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of focusing on your breath flow and being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling at every moment, without interpretation or judgment. In a job setting, this practice involves facing situations with openness and patience, and without judgment.
Note – most therapists will say that taking a vacation and getting sleep is not the full answer to resolving burnout. Brene Brown advises to be aware of what burnout looks like, set and keep boundaries and “create a clearing”, participating in an activity that centers you.
Quotes
“While burnout obviously has something to do with stress, overdoing things, not being centred, and not listening to yourself or your body, one of the deepest contributors to burnout, I believe, is the deep disappointment of not living up to your true calling, which is to help.”
― Jenn Bruer, Helping Effortlessly: A Book of Inspiration and Healing
“Slowly you may have transformed from a helper to one in need of help. It’s important to talk about this, to identify the wounds you carry.”
― Jenn Bruer, Helping Effortlessly: A Book of Inspiration and Healing
“Dear Stress, I would like a divorce. Please understand it is not you, it is me.”
― Thomas E. Rojo Aubrey, Unlocking the Code to Human Resiliency
“Burnout is the result of too much energy output and not enough energy self-invested. In other words, it's burning too much fuel than you’ve put in your tank.”
― Melissa Steginus, Self Care at Work: How to Reduce Stress, Boost Productivity, and Do More of What Matters
“First and foremost, if we maintain healthy emotional boundaries and direct love and kindness inwards, we are taking care of ourselves and secondly we are giving a subliminal message to others about how we wish to be treated. People tend to subconsciously treat us how we treat ourselves.”
― Christopher Dines, Mindfulness Burnout Prevention: An 8-Week Course for Professionals
"If you don't want to burn out, stop living like you're on fire."
― Unknown (used by Brené Brown)
Resources
https://www.verywellmind.com/stress-and-burnout-symptoms-and-causes-3144516
https://www.medscape.com/slideshow/2019-lifestyle-burnout-depression-6011056?faf=1#1
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/237059/employee-burnout-part-main-causes.aspx
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery.htm
From Adam Grant: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/19/smarter-living/coronavirus-emotional-support.html
From Brené Brown: http://www.oprah.com/inspiration/brene-brown-how-to-handle-burnout
From Jeremy Burrows: https://goburrows.com/how-to-recognize-and-avoid-burnout/ and https://goburrows.com/10-driving-forces-behind-burnout/
Literature Reviews
Burnout is not the same as depression nor anxiety: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00284/full
Current clinical trial investigating yoga as a form of treatment to decrease episodes of anxiety, burnout, depression: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03973216
https://medical-clinical-reviews.imedpub.com/working-environment-and-burnout-syndrome.php?aid=17500
This study reinforces the hypothesis of the relationship between the organizational support and professional stress, especially in the social support work. As the service under analysis in this study represents a national reference in its area of activity, the increase in the burden on the results of its employees can be quantified and compared to the risk of burnout. The employees’ perceptions of supervisor support, relationship of work, professional valorization and the performance management were significant in the burnout risk group. Therefore, a promotion and prevention program based on worker's mental health should include the evaluation of the organizational support; the identification of the critical factors and the planning of actions of continuous improvement, to obtain a healthy and productive work environment.
Systematic Reviews
The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify, categorize and evaluate the empirical research to date that has adopted a person-oriented approach to burnout. The results of these studies were then compared with those generated by variable-oriented burnout research. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213058615300127
Systematically reviewed controlled studies evaluating the effects of individually- and occupationally-focused interventions on burnout symptoms or work status among workers suffering from burnout https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213058616300596
Summarizes the evidence of the physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout in prospective studies https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5627926/
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