Preventing Burnout and Importance of Self Care
In an increasingly global world that is becoming more interconnected because of technology, it’s important to remember to take a break from work and prioritize our mental, physical, and emotional health. Having been there before, working 100 hour weeks with international travel/jet lag, I had to learn the hard way the effects of burnout, and how it affects overall performance and efficiency. If you don’t do a good job of taking care of yourself, you won’t be able to take care of the others around you.
While burnout can be attributed to workplace culture and organizational issues, employees can act independently to ensure they are taking care of themselves and their wellbeing. We can’t always wait or depend on our employers to look after us, and in most situations, the responsibilities lie on us as individuals to keep ourselves accountable. Here are a few tips I have learned from the process to help prevent burn out, reclaim your power, and refocus on self care.
Setting boundaries
One of the most important things to prevent burnout is setting strong boundaries. Setting boundaries will look different for everyone, but the key part is learning to communicate, setting expectations, and not feeling guilty. Boundaries can mean that there are certain days or times during the week that you are made unavailable, or that during the weekends or evenings you don’t pick up work. It could also mean that you schedule meetings and time manage around your key crucial priorities, like picking your child up from daycare or making it to your daily gym session. Creating those boundaries from work will allow you more time to fulfill your needs and desires. Adhering to these boundaries means not dropping everything hand and foot because a deliverable was urgently assigned on our plate; above all, establishing these limits means you value yourself and have enough confidence in yourself to not get swayed by other people’s anxieties. Continually adhering to the limits you’ve set for yourself will give you better endurance to run the long race.
Learning to delegate work
There are a lot of reasons why managers fail to delegate work. It could be that managers are new, have concerns with perfectionism or are insecure around their own performance, and thus may find it difficult to let go of work and delegate to others. In the long run, fear or lack of delegating could lead to a widely imbalanced workload between managers and direct reports; in turn, this may drive increased frustration in an already fragile working condition. Allowing your direct report to make and learn from mistakes is part of the process; it’s equally a learning opportunity for managers to accept mistakes, guide their team and move past them. Delegating to others and championing a “divide and conquer” mindset can also create stronger team dynamics, ensuring trust, and empowering team members to take ownership over their fair share of responsibilities. Delegation is a simple solution for managers to creating better balance under already stressful environments, but requires practice and willpower in learning to let go the reigns a bit.
Delegation is not only limited to managers, but also available to individual contributors as well. ICs can delegate by looping in others, whether it be within your immediate team or cross functionally. In this case, delegation means checking to see who might be better positioned to answer or respond to queries, and allowing others to step in if needed. Instead of immediately jumping in, ICs should learn to take a step back and think about who to consult with first, before single-handedly rushing to tackle the problem head on. Oftentimes, the feeling of bearing sole responsibility increases stress levels and adds to burnout, so involving and consulting various stakeholders can alleviate some of that pressure.
Learning to say No (thank you)
Similar to delegating, learning to say ‘no’ is another skill that takes time to build and acquire. Learning to say ‘No’ (politely) can range from a lot of things, such as turning down a task or project, learning to pass on a social event because it adds to your plate and doesn’t ultimately make you happy, or skipping out on a meeting because your presence isn’t really needed and won’t add value for you. Sometimes we think that the more we do, the more effective we are. In actuality, the opposite is true: we would get more things done and become more efficient if we had fewer hours in a day because it forces us to really prioritize the things that matter. Being busy does not equate to being productive, so filter out the noise, weed things out that don’t truly matter, and learn to skip out where needed. Instead, focus on the things that matter that will ultimately get you to your goals, drive results, and create happiness. Imagine how much more time if you will have if you simply skipped the unimportant things!
Communication and Transparency Around Workload
I’ve seen individuals in the past suffer in silence (myself included) because of a barrier in not being able to communicate existing challenges and overwhelming workload. In these situations, it’s crucial for employees to be honest, transparent, and forthcoming about their struggles to the manager, otherwise they will suffer quietly. Of course, in an ideal world, the organization would already be aware of employee burnout issues and have this on their radar, but we cannot always expect managers or the organization to read our minds, especially if we have not given any verbal indications. Managers, whether they are effective or not, may have tasks and responsibilities that the employee isn’t even aware of, so that being said, managing the workload of their teams may not always be at the top of their agenda.
When employees approach the conversation around workload imbalance and overwork concerns, note that managers may not always be accepting, empathetic or understanding. So instead of approaching this conversation as a bitching session or as a fight, employees should come prepared to discuss the issue at hand along with recommendations and solutions on how to resolve it. Perhaps you have noticed another colleague who has more bandwidth to assist, or perhaps another member of the team would be better attuned to picking and leading a project. Say that instead, and empower your manager with different options and perspectives, so he/she can better balance and delegate out your workload.
Asking for help when needed
Sometimes, burnout stems from deeper psychological issues that are resurfacing up at work. It could be something at home that is beginning to leak into your work performance, or that you are encountering patterns (both at home and at work) that you aren’t able to break free from. Maybe you’re reading the above tips and know that it logically makes sense, but there’s a blockage (you can’t quite put your finger on) that is preventing you from moving forward. In those instances, take the time to ask yourself what you need the most. Do you need time to recenter and reprioritize yourself? Do you need a leave of absence? Do you need counseling, or a coach? Be honest and raise it to your manager (or HR department) because this is the first step of recovery; again, no one can read your mind and unless you communicate, verbalize and confront what is going on inside, you will continue to suffer in silence. It’s easy to simply cut corners and quit a job to “solve the issues,” blaming it all on your employer, boss, and toxic environment, but if you don’t take the time to solve and understand the root cause of your issues, you will continue to encounter the same triggers in your next environment. Asking for help and knowing what you need should not be seen as weakness; it’s a strength because it takes courage and vulnerability to tackle these issues head on.
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Overall, the key here is to learn, understand, and recognize that you are in control. You are in the drivers seat and have power over all your actions, reactions, and outcomes. Realize that, while there may be pressure from work, at the end of the day, no one is putting a gun to your head to achieve certain outcomes, and unless you are in a life or death situation, it can wait. These pressures and feelings of burnout stem from you, and the power of the mind is that you have the ability to shape your reality. Don’t just wait for things to happen, take control of the situation. Ask for what you want and need, whether it be a conversation, more support, or a break from work. Self care is taking care of all your needs and desires, and ensuring that you continue to prioritize yourself first. While the organization might need you, you need yourself the most.
Ultimately, if you have tried all these avenues and exhausted your options, then perhaps it is time for you to find a new environment that will be more supportive of your needs. But before throwing in the towel, it’s important to give it your best shot, because unresolved issues tend to creep up on us and resurface when we least expect them to.