Where Does Burnout Come From?
“She’s extremely passionate about her work.” “ He’s incredibly motivated to succeed.”
Chances are, someone has said these things about you. They undoubtedly meant it as a compliment and you likely felt quite validated that they noticed these qualities in you.
Passion and motivation are important qualities for an entrepreneur to have, but what happens when they burn too hot? You probably guessed it, burnout sets in.
Burnout is what happens when passion and motivation get exhausted.
Where does Exhaustion Come From?
- Exhaustion sets in when we face excessive and prolonged stress - This stress is almost always rooted in fear. This is why it is so important to address fear & anxiety. They are intricately linked to burnout.
- Exhaustion comes from heavy pressure to perform (whether internal or external), which is often felt by eager entrepreneurs looking to change the world with limited resources.
- Exhaustion happens when our emotional capacity is exceeded daily, sparking feelings of overload or overwhelm.
If we are not actively managing our emotions, burnout is not only possible, it is inevitable.
The Impact of Burnout
Burnout does much more than impact our performance at work! A growing body of research demonstrates that workplace stressors and associated exhaustion and burnout have a significant negative impact on our health. In 2015, a team of scientists examined the relationship between workplace stressors, mortality, and health costs (Goh, Pfeffer, & Zenios, 2015). The patterns were stunning:
1. People with heavy job demands had a 35% increased risk of a physician-diagnosed illness.
2. Long work hours were connected to a 20% increase in mortality rates.
3. People who felt insecure in their job had a more than 50% chance of reporting poor health.
The World Health Organization recently recognized burnout as a ‘syndrome’ specifically linked to chronic stress at work. In a recent NPR story, Elaine Cheung, a professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says "There needs to be greater critical discussion on how we can more precisely measure and define this condition...
I think a lot of people have a lay definition of what burnout may be. But I think by highlighting the specific facets of burnout ... my hope is that it might create greater awareness."
In light of this, let’s dive into the signs of burnout. By recognizing burnout and the specific cause of burnout for you, we can begin to address it.
The Four Signs of Burnout
- Exhaustion - “I physically and emotionally cannot do this anymore. I want to, but I just can’t.”
I’ve had times where I sit down to work on a project and I JUST CAN’T. I stare at my computer but inspiration doesn’t come. I just can’t focus.
This is often caused by having too much to do and too little time to do it.
- Motivation - “I physically and emotionally cannot do this anymore because I don’t really want to.”
This one goes a bit deeper. A lack of motivation is often the result of engaging in repetitive work with little variation. Giving a lot but receiving little, and ultimately feeling undervalued.
As entrepreneurs, we often find ourselves doing work that we don’t love because it’s important and there is no one else to do it. When we’re forced to do too much of this type of work, we begin to lose our motivation.
- Feeling Ineffective - “Nothing I do really matters. I don’t have the resources or support to make a real contribution.”
If you find yourself in an environment filled with heavy criticism, few opportunities for personal expression or to try something new, you may find yourself feeling ineffective.
Have you ever been in an environment with a leader who is a control freak? Over time the team members will begin to throw their unique creativity to the wayside. They know that no matter what they do, the leader will have the final say. You might as well just wait for the next order. That’s definitely not a culture you want to build!
- Frustration & Cynicism - “This organization doesn’t align with its core values. It just exists for the benefit of the executives.”
The root cause here is often conflict and tension among team members, an absence of support, lack of trust, and hypocritical behaviors and bureaucracy. If you are an entrepreneur with a growing team, this may be a burnout sign that you need to actively work to prevent in your team.
If you find yourself saying - “I would never…” - it may be time to check in with your team members. Do they feel safe to speak up? Do they feel supported?
If you find that your team member’s experience doesn’t align with your perception, exercise some self-compassion. By doing the hard work to identify this sign and actively work to implement changes, you’ll be able to turn things around for your team!
The Burnout Test
The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory is an evidence-based tool for measuring personal burnout, work-related burnout, and client-related burnout.
In this abbreviated version, you’ll answer 7 quick questions to quickly find out your current risk of work-related burnout. This is a great tool to revisit frequently and make available to your team.
Burnout Prevention Starts With Awareness!
Burnout is a massive health and creativity leak
that must be addressed proactively.
Symptoms include exhaustion, lack of
motivation, feeling ineffective, & cynicism.
Find your motivation leaks by bringing
Burnout into the discussion regularly.
In the future, we’ll be unpacking the six stages of burnout. I’ll guide you in learning to proactively manage it. For now, work to understand where you fall on the burnout inventory and which of the 4 burnout signs currently poses the greatest threat for you.
If you work with a team, I’d also like to invite you to take it a step further by beginning to have healthy, engaged discussions about burnout. Encourage your team to take the assessment and begin to talk about how you can address burnout as a team.
The Long-Term Journey
It’s ok to burnout occasionally and sprint when you need to, but overall, be mindful of the long-term journey. The way you are working has a significant impact on your health and wellbeing, as well as that of your family and the people you work with. By learning to identify burnout, you’ll take the first steps to develop the resources you need to keep it at bay so that you can thrive in the work you love!