Coping Strategies for Burnout

Coping Strategies for Burnout

Written by: Dr. Gandham Sri Rama Krishna

Published in the International Journal of Research in Management Studies, Westwind Publishing House, Mumbai, October, 2014, Vol. 2 Issue.3, PP.49-54. ISSN: 2321-4864. 

Abstract

Burnout is the gradual process by which a person, in response to prolonged stress and physical, mental and emotional strain, detaches from work and other meaningful relationships. The result is lowered productivity, cynicism, confusion and a feeling of being drained, having nothing more to give.  Burnout is a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward. It may be defined as the total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal. Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress. Burnout, on the other hand, is about not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty, devoid of motivation and beyond caring. Individuals experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations.

Introduction

Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest or motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

If someone suffers burnout, they exhaust themselves at an early stage in their life or career because they have achieved too much too quickly. Burnout is the gradual process by which a person, in response to prolonged stress and physical, mental and emotional strain, detaches from work and other meaningful relationships. The result is lowered productivity, cynicism, confusion and a feeling of being drained, having nothing more to give. 

Maslach and Jackson first identified the construct ‘Burnout’ in 1970’s and developed  a measure that weighs the effects of emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of personal accomplishment. The Maslach burnout inventory uses a three dimensional description of exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (Maslach, Jackson, 1996). The term burnout in psychology was coined by Herbert J. Freudenberger in his 1974, which describes a protagonist suffering from burnout. He opined that burnout is “a demon born of the society and times we live in and ongoing struggle to invest our lives with meaning.” He observed burnout is a state of fatigue or frustration brought about by devotion to a cause, way of life or relationship that failed to produce the expected reward. It may be defined as the total depletion of physical and mental resources caused by excessive striving to reach an unrealistic work-related goal (Freudenberger, 1980). 

Another description in New York Magazine calls burnout, “a problem that’s both physical and existential, an untidy conglomeration of external symptoms and personal frustrations” (alistpart.com). The burnout is frequently associated with people whose jobs demand close relationships with others under tension-filled circumstances. The dangerous part of burnout is that it is contagious. A highly cynical and pessimistic burnout victim can quickly transform an entire group  into burnouts. It is, therefore, important to put out the fires early (V.S.P.Rao, 2007).  

Maslach and Leiter, defined the antithesis of burnout as engagement. Engagement is characterized by energy, involvement and efficacy, the opposites of exhaustion. They postulated that burnout occurs when there is disconnect between the organization and the individual with regard to what they called the six areas of work life: workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values (Maslach, Leiter, 1997).

Tracy describes, burnout as “a general wearing out or alienation from the pressures of work” (Tracy, 2000). Understanding burnout to be personal and private is problematic when it functions to disregard the ways burnout is largely an organizational issue caused by long hours, little down time, and continual peer, customer, and superior surveillance. 

The Difference between Stress and Burnout

            Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress. Burnout, on the other hand, is about not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. Individuals experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress is like drowning in responsibilities, burnout is being all dried up (helpguide.org).

            How the stress is processed determines how much stress is felt and how close the person is to burnout. One individual can experience few stressors, but be unable to process the stress well and thus experience burnout. Another person, however, can experience a significant amount of stressors, but process each well, and avoid burnout. How close a person is to a state of burnout can be determined through various tests. (allbusiness.com)

            Burnout doesn’t happen without stress. Although burnout is primarily a work-related illness caused by an imbalance in an individual’s personal goals, ideals, and needs as related to their job, stresses and factors outside the workplace can also contribute to the problem by wearing down emotional defenses.

Many theories of burnout include negative outcomes related to burnout, including;

·        Job functions like performance and output,

·        Health related outcomes like increases in stress hormones, coronary heart disease, circulatory issues, and

·        Mental health problems like depression, alienation, frustration etc.

Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North have theorized that the burnout process can be divided into twelve phases;

·        Working harder

·        Obvious behavioural changes

·        The compulsion to prove oneself

·        Displacement of conflicts

·        Withdrawal

·        Denial of emerging problems

·        Neglecting their needs

·        Revision of values

·        Depersonalization

·        Inner emptiness

·        Burnout syndrome 

·        Depression

Stages of Burnout

There are four stages of burnout;

• Physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. Maybe you are still holding it together at work.
• Shame and doubt. Perhaps this scenario is familiar.
• Failure, helplessness and crisis.
• Cynicism and callousness. In response to that prolonged feeling of insecurity or vulnerability (stessdoc.com).  

Symptoms of Burnout

            Some of the symptoms of burnout include: chronic fatigue, anger at those making demands, self-criticism for putting up with demands; negativism and irritability; a sense of being besieged; and hair-trigger display of emotions. The burnout victim is generally unable to maintain an even keel emotionally. The victim may burst out often and express his rage and hostility in totally inappropriate circumstances.

Think of the early symptoms of burnout as warning signs or red flags that something is wrong that needs to be addressed. If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burnout. Other symptoms include;

• You’re exhausted all the time
• Feeling tired and drained most of the time
• The majority of your day is spent on tasks you find either mind-numbingly dull or overwhelming
• Every day is a bad day.
• Frequent headaches, back pain, muscle aches, lowered immunity, feeling sick a lot
• Caring about your work or home life seems like a total waste of energy. 
• Sense of failure and self-doubt.
• Isolating yourself from others.
• Loss of motivation. You feel like nothing you do makes a difference or is appreciated. 
• Increasingly cynical and negative outlook
• Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done.
• Using food, drugs or alcohol to cope.
• Taking out your frustrations on others
• Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early. Withdrawing from responsibilities.  

Causes of burnout

            There are many causes of burnout, in many cases, burnout stems from job. But anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout. 

• Lack of recognition or rewards for good work
• Overly demanding job expectations
• Working too much, without relaxing and socializing
• Taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others.
•  Not getting enough sleep
• Lack of supportive relationship
• Pessimistic view of yourself and the society
• Perfectionist tendencies; nothing is ever good enough   

Consequences of Burnout

Burnout brings with it many losses, which can often go unrecognized. Unrecognized losses trap a lot of your energy. It takes a tremendous amount of emotional control to keep yourself from feeling the pain of these losses. When you recognize these losses and allow yourself to grieve them, you release that trapped energy and open yourself to healing 

If constant stress has you feeling disillusioned, helpless, and completely worn out, you may be suffering from burnout. When you’re burned out, problems seem insurmountable, everything looks bleak, and it’s difficult to muster up the energy to care-let alone do something about your situation. The unhappiness and detachment burnout causes can threaten your job, your relationships and your health. But burnout can be healed. You can regain your balance by reassessing priorities, making time for yourself and seeking support. 

Burnout reduces your productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give. Most of us have days when we feel bored, overloaded, or unappreciated. If you feel like this most of the time, however, you may be flirting with burnout.

Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away (helpguide.org).

Coping Strategies

            There are a variety of ways that both individuals and organizations can deal with burnout.

• A better connection on workload means assuring adequate resources to meet demands as well as work life balances that encourage employees to revitalize their energy.
• A better connection on values means clear organizational values to which employees can feel committed.
• A better connection on community means supportive leadership and relationships with colleagues rather than discord.
• Resolving these discrepancies requires integrated action on the part of both the individual and the organization (Maslach, Schaufeli, 2001). 
• Resting proves to be very effective. This may include a temporary reduction of working hours and slowly rebuilding the endurance of the individual.
• Many of the remedies related to burnout are motivated not from an employee’s perspective, but from the organization’s perspective.
• Despite that, if there are benefits to coping strategies, then it would follow that both organizations and individuals should attempt to adopt some burnout coping strategies.
• Some programmes included counseling and psychological services for employees. There are organizations that still utilize employee assistance programmes today, but the popularity has diminished substantially because of the advent of stress management training.
• Employees can cope with the  problems related to burnout and stress by focusing on the causes of their stress. Various therapies, such as Neurofeedback therapy, claim to assist in cases of burnout. This type of coping has successfully been linked to reductions in individual stress.
• Appraisal based coping strategies deal with individual interpretations of what is and is not a stress inducing activity. There have been mixed findings related to the effectiveness of  appraisal based coping strategies.
• Social support has been seen as one of the largest predictors toward a reduction in burnout and stress for workers. Creating an organizationally supportive environment as well as ensuring that employees have supportive work environment do mediate the negative aspects of burnout and stress (allbusiness.com).

Prevention Techniques

While individuals can cope with the symptoms of burnout, the only way to truly prevent burnout is through a combination of organizational change and education for the individual (Maslach, Leiter, 1997). Organizations address these issues through their own management development, but often they engage external consultants to assist them in establishing new policies and practices supporting a healthier work life. 

W.S.Paine suggested four techniques to reduce burnout. These are:

·        Identification: This is the analysis of the incidence, prevalence and features of burnout in individuals, workgroups and subunits in an organization.

·        Prevention: Serious attempts should be made to prevent burnout process before it begins through employee wellness programmes.

·        Mediation: This involves procedures for slowing, halting or reversing the burnout process.

·        Remediation: Techniques are designed for persons who are already burned out or are rapidly reaching the end stages of this process.

Tips for Preventing Burnout. These are:

• You need to force yourself to slow down or take a break. Cut back whatever commitments and activities you can. Give yourself time to rest, reflect, and heal.
• Creativity is a powerful antidote to burnout. Try something new, start a fun program, or a favorite hobby.
• Start the day with a relaxing ritual. Spend at least ten minutes meditating.
• Adopt healthy eating, exercising and sleeping habits. Sleep gives our brains a chance to work out problems and process the information we’ve absorbed throughout the day.
• Set boundaries. Don’t overextend yourself.
• Learning how to manage stress can help you regain your balance.
• Turn to your loved ones for support. Simply sharing your feelings with another person can relieve some of the burden.
• Take time to think about your hopes, goals, and dreams.
• Changing jobs or changing careers. Changing departments learn a new skill, or simply focus more on the things you’re good at and that make you happy. 
• Take a proactive approach – rather than a passive one.
• If burnout seems inevitable, take a complete break from work. Go on vacation.
• Seek counsel and support from family, friends, and peer members or consider more formal coaching, possibly through a local business network or wellness center.
• Spending time with family, friends or your personal interests may provide the fulfillment you don’t get at work.

When you’re burned out, you know it. You can feel it and taste it, but in order to get past, it you have to acknowledge it and fight to restore your internal equilibrium. Stop, decompress, communicate, and focus. That process often begins with a look inward to learn what gives your life balance, such as family, friends, personal interests, and hobbies – the things that counterbalance your life on the web of human relations. 

References

1. Dierendonck,D., Schaufeli,W.B., Buunk, B.P(1998), The Evaluation of an Individual Burnout Intervention Program: The Role of Inequity and Social Support, Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 392-407.
2. C.Maslach, S.E.Jackson (1981), The Measurement of Burnout, Journal of Organisational Behaviour.
3. Herbert J. Freudenberger, Geraldine Richelson(1980), Burn-Out: The High Cost of High Achievement, 0-385-15664-2.
4. Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E, and Leiter, M.P(1996), Burnout Inventory: Manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.
5. Maslach, C. and Leiter, M.P(1997), The Truth about Burnout. New York. Jossey-Bass.
6. Maslach, C., Schaufeli,W.B., Leiter, M.P (2001), Job Burnout, Annual Review of Psychology, 52: 397-422.
7. Tracy,S (2000), Becoming a Character for Commerce Emotion, Management Communication Quarterly, 14.113.
8. Ulrich Kraft (2006), Burned Out, Scientific American Mind, June-July, PP.28-33.    
9. V.S.P.Rao (2007), Human Resource Management, Excel Books, New Delhi. PP.659-661.
10. W.S.Paine (1982), Job Stress and Burnout, Beverly Hills, Calif, Sage Publications. 

Websites:

1. www.allbusiness.com
2. www.helpguide.org
3. www.stressdoc.com
4. www.alistapart.com