BURNOUT

Health, September 13, 2022

Burnout affects so many in society with little understanding on the main causes. We need to stop blaming the individual and look at our systems and environment.

Well-being and communication skills go hand and hand. Burnout is a common problem in our society, and is getting worse partly due to our hectic lifestyles. A recent study showed that 50% of medical students will experience burnout in their final year. Burnout mostly affects the more junior staff in organisations due to lack of experience, increased hours, a skill - role mismatch, and less autonomy compared to their superiors.  

A typical burnout story.....

'She/he is almost unable to get out of car at the end of the day and finds it increasingly hard to engage with the family. Every day feels like a daily grind. Life becomes more narrow; opportunities and risks float by. She/he can only focus on the next step. Trudging along, unable to enjoy the view. Everything feels similar. She/he feels distant from others surrounding her/him. Limping from holiday to holiday. Just a person on a treadmill within a system.' 

The wider environment or system is commonly at play when it comes to burnout.

Two factors in the environment effects burnout
  1. The demands placed on you
  2. Low resources or support

Conflict is also part of the burnout equation - External (interaction with work mates) Internal (wanting to be somewhere else, e.g I should have done another job)

Risk factors for Burnout- 
  • A skill use mismatch -  highly skilled, and not able to use them (feeling undervalued and bored) or under skilled and over stressed.
  • The work place doesn’t align with you. It’s unfair, it doesn’t match your values
  • Autonomy - if you have less control then there is more chance to create burnout
Burnout has 3 strands
      1. Stress dimension - physically and emotionally exhausted.
      2. The way we interact, our ability to connect. When burnt out we become disconnected, cynical, and we    tend to de-humanise others.

      3. Inefficiency, and ineffectiveness  

When sliding down each of the 3 burnout strands we need to understand how to reverse the slide. For stress look at sleep, hydration, and exercise. For a lack of connection organise a coffee with a friend, a walk/jog with a training buddy, a date night with our partner, or look at joining a club with like minded people. If you are sliding into ineffectiveness take time to understand what you were doing when you were last effective, take a course, look at up-skilling

It is important we look for burnout symptoms in ourselves and others in our teams. These can be physical symptoms, back pain, and skin conditions and psychological symptoms such as becoming rigid in thinking, having a narrow focus, and a trudging mentality. Sometimes people start ruminating on "soul stuff" - this questioning spiritual frameworks, bigger picture stuff, and core beliefs can contribute towards exhaustion. 

The difference between depression and burnout

You can have both, and one can lead to other. Depression has less environment causes. If you send a burnout person on holiday they will get better. Depression will follow a person on holiday. To prevent burnout look at up-skilling (a growth mindset helps prevent burnout) and changing systems that don't have adequate support allowing for individuals to thrive. A Mayo clinic article written by Dr. Tait Shanefelt looks at 9 strategies to reverse burnout

1- Acknowledge and assess the problem
2- Understand that behaviours of leaders can increase or decrease burnout
3- using a system approach to develop interventions in improve efficiency
4- Cultivating community at work
5- using rewards and incentives strategically
6- Assessing if the organisations actions match the stated values and mission
7- Implementing organisational practices and policies that promote flexibility and work-life balance
8- Provide resources to help individuals promote self care

9- Supporting organisational science (study the factors in your own organisation that contribute to the problem and invest in solutions.

The opposite to burnout is engagement, and being absorbed. Feeling invigorated and dedication. Having real meaning in life. Having meaning in life is what we all need to strive for. 

*notes from a presentation from Dr. Fiona Moir at the 2022 NZ Physiotherapy conference held at Rotorua, with my holistic perspective.

 

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