Are you on the Road to Burnout
The road to burnout is paved with long hours, unrealistic deadlines, and expectations. But, it is also paved with many early telltale signs that our body sends to us in an attempt to make us hit the brakes. Remote Santa brings you a short overview of burnout syndrome and its stages, as well as two practical check-in lists for employees and managers to help them address it and cut the problem at the root.
What is Burnout?
Burnout is difficult to identify because culturally, we have a very loose definition of the term. It is not the same for everyone, and even if we list all of the possible symptoms that come with it, you will probably have a couple of your own to add.
It does not feel the same for everyone.
It is a bit like the common phrase "I'm so depressed" that people throw around when what they actually mean is "I'm sad." Burnout has become a common term for any work-related stress that you experience on a daily basis.
The World Health Organization describes it as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been properly managed.
People who have suffered from it say they did not want to talk to anyone or do anything other than sleep.
They say they had the energy only to go to work and come back home.
They felt emotionally exhausted and disconnected from their jobs.
Their private life suffered.
Physical symptoms include lack of focus, headaches, frequent illness, and changes in sleep.
If these symptoms sound familiar to you, here's a friendly reminder to seek professional help and address them as soon as possible.
But, the road to burnout is long and full of warnings. When something feels off, our bodies try to warn us well in advance.
Are you on the Road to Burnout?
There are 5 stages of burnout. In other words, our bodies and minds work really hard to make us change something as early as possible:
1. Initial Enthusiasm or Honeymoon Phase
We can sometimes experience an initial burst of "everything is perfect" energy at a new job, but ideally, this should be the phase when we start to notice red flags and think about them. Unfortunately, this is also the phase when we go beyond our limits to prove ourselves.
2. Stress Onset
This is when you start feeling stressed and irritable because you’ve probably neglected your self-care routine. Culturally we’re used to brush this feeling off as the normality of working life.
3. Chronic Stress
After a prolonged time of stress and pressure, the symptoms intensify. It probably already strongly affects your work and personal life. You’ve started to procrastinate and lose focus.
4. Burnout
Now you’ve reached your limits and lost the ability to function as you normally would. You start obsessing over problems at work, but you also feel increasingly numb. Physical symptoms will become intense.
5. Habitual Burnout or Apathy and Resignation
At this point, you completely lose the feeling of purpose at work. We hope you have addressed the issue well before this stage, because habitual burnout affects your physical and mental health immensely and probably requires professional help.
Surprising Signs of Impending Burnout
While some of the signs are very typical and we probably all know about them, there are a couple of surprising signs of impending burnout. Pay special attention to them:
1. Enjoying Stress
It sounds silly, but for a lot of ambitious entrepreneurs and today’s workers, this is a reality. They feel like they flourish in chaos and constant state of stress - they are more creative, more productive and (pay super special attention to this one!) more successful. It feels like playing a game or running a race in which one a few people are good at. You’re on a fast track to burnout, but you’re feeling good and better than others.
2. Functioning on Very Little Sleep
Adults who are sleep deprived may experience bursts of energy, and this gives us the feeling that we’re okay with this. We might even boast about ‘being able to do that much on 3 hours of sleep’.
Self-check In List
It’s important to catch these early signs and address the stress before burnout happens. And you’ve probably read or heard about these signs so much that you only glossed over and never actually thought about them.
We think this practical check-in list might help you to actively think about your stress. Remember to do this regularly, even when you feel great about your work:
- What’s the last situation that left you feeling stressed and irritated?
- How did you feel in that moment?
- Did that situation have any prolonged impact on you?
- Could you have done something differently to avoid this?
- Could your manager or colleague have done something differently to avoid this?
- How can I share feedback and effectively change something about it?
Managers Check-In List
If you are a manager, you play a crucial role in managing your team's workload and stress. You're the one who creates a safe environment for your team to feel comfortable speaking up, giving feedback, and making mistakes.
You will definitely notice when stress starts affecting your employees, and you'll notice that it has a huge impact on their productivity and your business objectives. We know it's easier to send out another generic "thank you for your hard work and remember to take time off" message to the group chat, but what if you made an extra effort and showed them you actually care?
Here's a list of questions for you to think about when your team is stressed:
- Does this happen whenever you launch a new project or during certain months?
- Can you hire more people to prevent this?
- Is the onboarding training good enough?
And even more importantly, ask them what they want!
- Do they really want another team building activity?
- Is time off a good suggestion, or will it just delay the problem?
Remote Workers are at a Greater Risk
Remote teams already struggle with disconnection and isolation, but when one of the team members is on the road to burnout, it can become even more difficult to help them.
Moreover, it is harder for managers to spot early signs of burnout. Employees who are struggling with stress tend to isolate themselves even more and not open up to their colleagues easily. Physical distance plays a crucial role here, especially if the company has been remote from its early days, so colleagues did not have any opportunities to bond.
If you are a remote manager, make sure you create a safe environment for your team members to speak up when something is off and share their struggles with the team. Remember: remote work requires a less hierarchical and more inspirational form of leadership to compensate for the lack of physical closeness.