Burnout or Burn Bright

Burnout as a phenomenon was in the limelight even before the pandemic, however the last 18 months has brought this at the forefront, especially with working from home becoming a necessity and being translated as “always available”, more so in lockdown you could not be anywhere other than the solitary walks at times. Some experts have termed this the “burnout epidemic”.

Research shows that today’s executives are always “very busy”, it’s like a badge of honour. Being always at work or the “Busyness” can be draining, and it impacts productivity not to mention leads to health issues in the future. This burnout is manifesting in aches, pains, and other problems like sleep disorder and if not addressed, could lead to serious repercussions.

Executives feel that they will miss out if they are not online all the time. Most people are known to check their phone first thing in the morning and again just before going to sleep. Today’s remote working exacerbates the issue as presentism is now being redefined as responding to emails or text messages in record time, irrespective of the importance of these messages.

Even Apple is planning to help its users manage distractions with the Focus mode in iOS15, which has more features than its do not disturb mode. These are various measures to address both digital addiction as well as burnout. Along with digital fatigue, we are also becoming “on call 24×7” with the plethora of devices and channels of communication available today.  

There are many organisations tackling this issue – back in 2012 Volkswagen blocked certain staff from accessing emails from evening time till morning. I remember in 2014 receiving an automated message from a German client that as he was on holiday, my email to him will not be delivered till he is back.  “Right to disconnect” is being debated and discussed by some governments too, with Ireland bringing about a code of conduct on the right to disconnect in April this year and Canada is looking at a similar initiative. Many organisations have started respecting the down time of employees to protect them from burnouts – like no emails or calls on weekends, off days, outside of working hours etc.

WHO has defined Burnout in International Classification of Disease as “Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions: a) feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; b) increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and c) reduced professional efficacy. Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

So, what should we do to avoid burnout and ensure that we BURN BRIGHT? A few simple routines should do the trick. 

• Punctuate our lives – build in small pockets of emptiness. Say 5 minutes of just sitting idle or staring out of the window.
• Night rest – Keep the phone to charge at night in a different room – we can always be woken up by a good old alarm clock.
• Set time limits – 4 times a day, during working hours, set aside 10 minutes of being away from our phone and laptop. Clean our desk, do stretches, walk around, if in office then say hi to a colleague.
• Digital detox – once a week or maybe once a month stay away from all digital devices for either half a day or a full day.
• Set boundaries – Say no to calls/emails if on holiday, after a particular time in the evening or before a particular time in the morning, weekends (at least one of the days). Once people know this to be your routine, they will respect it.

Keep burning bright!