In The Midst Of Burnout, But What Now?

This past month, I’ve had dozens of people reach out to me, in the midst of burnout at work. 

While everyone’s experience is unique.

There are a couple of strategies that can help anyone. 

The first step is always recognizing that something isn’t right, that our experiences are valid, and that we mostly always have a choice. 

That choice looks different for everyone, depending on where they are at in their journey and life. 

And for some, emotions and exhaustion are too heightened, it feels impossible to be able to make a decision. 

While everyone’s situation is unique, here are three powerful considerations for those experiencing heightened stress at work:

 Validate what you feel. Many times I coach someone I reflect back to them the ‘data’ they’ve shared with me around WHY they are experiencing these challenges. This is when something clicks! When we’re in it, it can be difficult to actually see this. Take notes as to how many hours you’re working, the workload you have, or the volume of tasks you receive. 

 Start with one healthy boundary. Maybe it’s taking an hour lunch break or possibly it’s switching off from work at a certain time. Start with the boundary that’s going to give you the most relief. 

 Learn to say no and manage expectations. Many people I speak to that are burned out from increased workloads or unrealistic time pressure just continue to DO it. The people they work with think everything is fine because the work is being done. If something isn’t realistic, you need to deliver that information. ‘This timeline isn’t realistic due to X and Y priorities and my capacity, what can we do to ensure this gets done in a realistic way?’

WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE AND MANAGE BURNOUT WITHIN OUR TEAMS?

Over the years of researching burnout with teams, and distributed teams specifically, I’ve come to identify three major areas as a framework that supports organizations in creating healthy, happy, and productive teams, long-term. 

Burnout isn’t just an individual problem, it’s often a systemic problem within our organization. 

But that’s not to say that improving and empowering ourselves as individuals isn’t a solution. 

It is, but it also requires the efforts of the leader AND the organization. 

Some leaders see burnout for what it is.

They are heart-centered human beings that intuitively know that supporting team members leads to greater success for their organization.

There are also leaders who don’t as easily see the correlation between burnout and the bottom line.

And that’s okay, we all see the world, business, and systems in different ways.

That’s why I’ve created The Burnout Identifier – a free video course that supports HR professionals in not only identifying the root causes of stress within their team but also how to collect that data and present it in a way that resonates with all business leaders internally. 

Download your free resource here today 

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you and your team:

1. Pre-order my book. Managing Employee Burnout: How to Develop A Happy, Healthy and Engaged Workforce. (available December 2022)

2. Revive, Engage and Develop your remote/hybrid team (interactive training for leaders and individual contributors) here. (70+ companies)

3. Work 1:1 with me as a fractional executive.  Expert advice, up-to-date, proven knowledge, and a chance to co-create an amazing distributed culture together. (1 spot available)