Peter: "I'm not giving this..."
Peter sits at his computer and stares at the screen. He has one thought in his head.I gotta make it!" The numbers in the table blur together before his eyes. Yesterday he worked until midnight, today he started at six in the morning. He's slipping, even though he's running at his best.
His phone vibrates in his pocket. A text message from the bank: "We remind you to pay your mortgage." He feels an uncomfortable grip in his stomach. If he loses this job, he'll be screwed.
"Mortgage, preschool for my son, lease for a second car... I shouldn't have bought it. It was a mistake.' He is snapped out of his thoughts by an email notification. Subject.URGENT! I need it today!!"The sender is the new boss.
Peter opens his email. No "please." No explanation. Just another task that doesn't fit anywhere. He lets go of the mouse. His hands are shaking.
Burnout is not about your weakness. It's about imbalance.
"Today's jobs are constantly expanding in terms of expectations, but the resources employees are given to manage them are not," says Robert Simons, MBA professor at Harvard Business School. According to him, people are under increasing pressure, but at the same time they lack the necessary support.
Kate: "I don't know what to do anymore."
It's quiet at home. A suffocating silence. Like a knife stabbing into her stomach.
"So what do you want, Kate? Do you just want to complain all the time?" her husband yells at her. Katka lowers her eyes. They're fighting again. It's been a few weeks.
He's late from work. She's unable to switch off. She wakes up at night wondering if she forgot something. She can feel her heart beating even when she's just lying in bed.
Her hands were shaking this morning as she poured her tea. She spilled the whole cup on the table. She stood over the spilled liquid, unable to move. "What's happening to me?"Tears are falling down her face. One, two, three...
His hands are free at work. And that's the problem. "No one told her exactly what to do." Her boss tells her, "You have my full confidence."
"But how is it to be guided by trust? I have no clear goals! I don't know how they measure my success here.„
The reasons for burnout take various forms, for example:
Too much responsibility and not enough resources. People are overburdened, but they have no powers or support.
Too much freedom and unclear expectations. People wander, they have no fixed point, no goal and no feedback.
According to Professor Simons of Harvard any position must be designed with a balance between responsibility and supportor employees will burn out or fail. "In many companies today, employees are held accountable for results that go beyond their resources and authority," says Simons.
How not to burn out? 5 key steps
- Set clear boundaries. It's not normal to work 12 hours a day. Learn to say no. If you are being given a job without the proper authority or support, speak up.
- Ask for clear expectations. What exactly is expected of you? What does it look like and how does it measure success? If you don't know the answer, you risk working blind. This will lead to your frustration.
- Ask for support. Do you want results? You need tools. If you lack resources, authority or leadership, it's a management problem, not a personal effectiveness problem.
- Watch for warning signs. If you are constantly exhausted, irritable or unable to concentrate, it's time to stop. Burnout doesn't start overnight, it starts creeping in. You may not even notice it.
- Talk about it. Don't try to do everything yourself. Share problems with colleagues or a mentor. You may gain new insights and solutions.
Work is not meant to destroy you. If it does, maybe it's time to make a change.
But... I know from my own experience. I know it from my own life. I've long doubted that burnout even exists. If it's not just an excuse for failure.
I work from morning till night. 6-7 days a week. I make up for lack of sleep with caffeine, nicotine and sugar. For years. Not one, not two. More than 20 years.
Suddenly the blows come. Public attacks I don't understand. They last for months. I wonder if it wouldn't be better to put a bullet through my head. I'm losing my footing. I work all the harder.
I'm not paying attention. A really close business partner is stealing from me. A rocket. I don't have power. I can lie in bed for 18 hours and not move a millimeter. I don't care about anything. My body says, "STOP. NO MORE
YOU CAN'T."I can feel the energy and life draining out of my body. Long, long weeks.
Today I know: "If I hadn't burned up a few months ago, I would have."
Take care of yourself:
- If you feel chronic fatigue and exhaustion that does not pass even after rest.
- You are cynical and alienated. You have a negative attitude towards work, colleagues or clients, feel alienated and lose meaning in what you do.
- You are declining in your performance, have difficulty concentrating, lower productivity and feel like you are not managing your tasks.
- You often suffer from headaches, stomach problems, sleeplessness or weakened immunity.
- You are emotionally unstable, irritable, feelings of hopelessness, anxiety or depression.
If you have these symptoms, get help. Quick. And repeat to yourself.DON'T!"
