Combatting Burnout with Connection
“Today, I’m truly grateful to be working for a company with a mission I’m passionate about that also provides good work-life balance. However, it hasn’t always been this way. Out of undergrad, I wanted to push myself at a company that provided ample learning opportunities and the potential for transition to other industries afterwards. This led me to management consulting, an industry with notoriously poor work-life balance. I figured that, as a hard worker, I could push through it— if only it was that simple. We consultants quickly found out that working 14-hour days was exhausting and left no time for other priorities. To make ourselves feel better, we would joke that at least the hours weren’t as bad as investment banking, but that didn’t change the reality of our situations. I wasn’t able to exercise or spend time outside during the day, and my relationships suffered. My mental wellbeing was in the gutter, and I knew working like this wasn’t sustainable. Yet I felt stuck, not knowing what to do next or how long I needed to stay to get a good next job. Eventually, after 1.5 years, I began to prioritize myself and pushed back – blocking more personal time in my calendar and taking more vacation time. It was on one of these vacations that I was lucky enough to find the right next job for me.”
- Luis Lopez, Strategy & Insights Analyst & C-Labs Participant
We can all relate to the feeling of having too much on our plates. It is news to no one that our workplace can ask a lot from us, making us feel as though we are expending substantial effort and still falling short of demands. This feeling is part of a phenomenon known as burnout, a psychological dilemma which plagues the modern workforce. Burnout is frequently equated with being tired or stressed at work– and while these are contributing factors, they neither paint a full picture nor encapsulate how serious a problem burnout can be.
Did you know?
Burnout can be described as “severe emotional fatigue” manifesting in both emotional and physiological symptoms, and is often marked by a withdrawal from social relationships. In today’s fast-paced professional world, prioritizing connection is crucial to our functionality and well-being.
There are many contributing factors that put employees at risk of burnout. Employees are expected to be constantly accessible in the online sphere, a social norm that eats away at personal boundaries and a healthy work-life balance. Economic constraints and national worker shortages leave companies across the country with fewer workers contending with greater workloads for smaller salaries. This is especially relevant as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic with significantly understaffed businesses. With the uprooting of daily life brought about by COVID, societal pandemic burnout has been characteristic of the lockdown experiences of many. This points to another risk factor associated with burnout: loneliness. Loneliness is not only an outcome of burnout but a key trigger.
With its pervasive effect on society, it is important that we identify and implement means to reduce burnout. Scholars have endorsed a mindfulness approach centered on self-awareness and acceptance as an effective mode of fighting burnout. Through being attuned to one’s needs, being mindful also means establishing necessary boundaries, and recognizing the power of the pause. At Connection Labs, we consider the pause in relation to conversation–stepping back and reflecting in an emotionally-charged situation–similar to a pause taken for restorative practices. Workplace environments can work to build cultures of psychological safety and trust so that employees are more able to set more realistic boundaries. Another solution lies in reducing loneliness by bolstering connection. Connecting with others in meaningful ways and holding space for connection within and outside of work has proven crucial in countering loneliness.
Awareness, Context, Intention
Building Awareness: Have you experienced symptoms of burnout? What were some contributing factors in your burnout experience?
Considering Context: Are there any contexts in your life in which burnout is more likely? What contexts help combat burnout?
Setting Intention: Invoke mindfulness when presented with obstacles during the workday and prioritize having social connection with colleagues, friends and family. As a leader, encourage the cultivation of a workplace environment in which communication is valued, boundaries are established, and individuals are respected.
Tap into your strengths
Use self-regulation to check in with yourself and engage in mindfulness practices
Use love to connect with others
Use hope to work through burnout symptoms
Use kindness to be gentle with yourself when experiencing burnout
Use honesty to communicate with colleagues about the reality of burnout
