Canadian Government Executive - Volume 27 - Issue 03

May/June 2021 // Canadian Government Executive / 27 “One of the common markers that someone is suffering from burnout is that they’ll take a break or go on holiday but return to work just as exhausted. Their tank can’t fill up. Their batteries can’t recharge. They’re still exhausted, despite the break. Burnout can’t be solved merely by taking a holiday.” It’s like the fish in contaminated water. Take the fish out, and it will recover. Put it back in the same bowl and the symptoms return. “If we continue to put burned-out people back into an organiza- tion with exactly the same conditions, it’s unlikely you’ll see them rebounding any time soon,” she notes. The fourth myth is trickier because it has elements of truth: Burn- out is caused by stress or working long hours. But stress doesn’t nec- essarily cause burnout – indeed, stress has a positive side, such as when we are in a stretch assignment and flourish. What counts is the length of exposure to stress and the intensity. Short bursts can be fine, even if high intensity. Long-term exposure to high amounts of stress is more likely to lead to burnout. So there can be a link to stress but we shouldn’t be too quick or too general in our assessment. Similarly, long hours in and of themselves do not necessarily cause burnout. But there’s a link: When we work long hours over a long time and those long hours are combined with other burnout- causing factors -- such as a lack of resources or little control over the job you’re charged with -- then the chance of burnout increases. The red flags that can signal burnout are chronic exhaustion, cynicism or detachment, along with a reduced sense of accom- plishment and personal efficacy. Someone suffering from burnout is likely to display a combination of signs pointing to those factors. But it may not be easy to discern, for the individual or that person’s boss. McAlpine suffered from burnout and says “looking back on my own experience, it was clear these red flags were furiously flap- ping in my face -- I just couldn’t see them. And neither could Nick, my manager.” Leaders need to educate themselves on the signs of burnout for themselves but also their teams since they oversee aspects of the ecosystem. Burnout rarely happens to just one person. She encour- ages you to look for patterns in your team as well as individual in- stances of greater exhaustion, absenteeism, increasing frustration or cynicism, or reduced personal inefficacy. Talk openly with your team about the signs of burnout in a way that is supportive and non-judgemental. She urges you to even bring mental wellness conversations into your one-on-ones. Ask: On a scale of one to 10, where one is terrible and 10 is awesome, how would you rate your wellness (including mental wellness) right now? If it strikes you personally, practice self-compassion. That doesn’t mean ignoring self-reflection – you may need to rethink your work WEB https://canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca/author/harvey-schachter/ situation. But don’t, like her, fall into the self-blame game, which made it worse. Reach out; don’t try to fight burnout on your own. Talk to your doctor and if you are comfortable your manager or HR. Look at what you can control and influence in this situation, and what small, proactive or positive things you can do to help. Realize that recovery from burnout won’t happen overnight but she assures you that recovery will occur, in time. “Burnout doesn’t go away on its own. And it certainly won’t go away unless you address the underlying issues causing it. Whatever you do, don’t ignore burnout and think that if you just dig deeper into your already depleted reserves and soldier on, it’s going to help, or that you’ll endure and get through it. Putting your head in the sand and changing nothing is a sure-fire tactic to take you further down the burnout road. It will cause more damage, too -- poten- tially to your career, your health and your personal relationships,” she says. Her book is an excellent guide to burnout, looking at all aspects, thoroughly, and explaining what organizations, leaders within those organizations, and individuals can do to reduce the burnout pandemic. Harvey Schachter is a writer, specializing in management and business issues. He writes three weekly columns for the Globe andMail and The Leader’s Bookshelf column for Canadian Government Executive, and a regular column and features for Kingston Life magazine. Harvey was editor of the 2004 book Memos to the Prime Minister: What Canada Can Be in the 21st Century. He was the ghostwriter on The Three Pillars of Public Management by Ole Ingstrup and Paul Crookall, and editor of Getting Clients, Keeping Clients by Dan Richards. THE LEADER’S BOOKSHELF “Whatever you do, don’t ignore burnout and think that if you just dig deeper into your already depleted reserves and soldier on, it’s going to help, or that you’ll endure and get through it. Putting your head in the sand and changing nothing is a sure-fire tactic to take you further down the burnout road. ”