I got back into work myself today, having my first client session after summer. It was a postponed session from before summer, as the company was going into workforce negotiations and a lot was up in the air. However, it was a pretty interesting session, where we discussed the current problems, with one of them being that a supervisor is out on burnout leave, yet has only been working at 50% for two years, due to burnout.
I don't know this guy.
However, while burnout happens, what I have come to realise over the years is that while the "workload" gets the majority of the blame, it is rarely the case. Instead, it is the work environment that is the major issue, where the environment where one thrives, can cause another to breakdown. As long as relatively acceptable, the workload can be quite high, and for some extremely high, if the environment is set up to support that kind of load, for that kind of person.
The reason that so many people burnout these days is that they aren't correctly identifying what it is that is causing their stress. The workload is easy to point to because that is the job, and it is made harder as stress increases to the point that even small tasks seem like mountains. But the person doing the same job alongside is fine.
The problem isn't the workload, it is the worker.
And no, I am not victim blaming here, but the fact is that people overestimate their abilities and when things aren't going to plan, it can't possibly be because they are lacking something, it has to be something else. So, they go on leave for a month, two month, or six months, but they don't do anything to change their abilities, so they come back refreshed, but the same - and the environment hasn't changed.
However, I boldly mentioned to my client today (as I am trying to get more work too) that one of the reasons that people should hire me, or someone like me for their key people, is that one of the services I provide is a changed environment for a short period of time, where the person has space to breathe, while discussing challenges and with the transparent goal to improve skill gaps. The environment they enter into is one of support, where they as an individual get what they need - someone to listen, someone to help them grow, someone who is helping them face the real challenges, not the perceived challenges in front of them.
And they don't burnout.
A supportive work environment is just as crucial for high-performance workers, as it is for those struggling. Otherwise, the high performers aren't going to reach their potential either and will end up getting increasingly high workloads of random tasks and roles from the people who are burning out. It sets up a cycle of destruction, burning and churning headcount at an increasing rate. And very few companies can afford a high staff churn, because not only is it expensive to onboard new people, but they can't attract the better workers, because their employer brand is shot.
On a side note, my client (who is a few years older than myself) mentioned the struggles with younger workers, and how they have low resilience and need the most handholding. But the same thing applies, they need support. But in my opinion, it isn't the support that they think they need, with more perks and money, and video games - they need people support. Most of them don't have strong and trusted social circles and as a result, they expect the workplace to provide social and emotional support as well. It isn't just a job for them, but they won't commit to it either, because they don't even commit to their friendships.
As I said to my client, back in the day when he and I were getting our first jobs, we knew exactly what it was for. The money. We needed the money so then we could go drinking with our real friends away from work. We had space with family and friends where we were supported and accepted and were able to vent, so we didn't need the work to provide that. This made us more resilient to the trials and tribulations of the workplace, because it was just a job. Our real lives were elsewhere.
Young people don't seem to be able to make a clear distinction in the way they act, even though they can vocalise their opinions clearly. Just like the burned out person blaming the workload, the young are misidentifying the causes of their suffering. Them. When you take every negative feeling as an existential crises and then confuse the catalyst of the feeling as the cause of the feeling, life is very stressful. They take everything personally, but don't take responsibility for the one person they should have some control over - themselves.
Mental health is on the decline globally, yet people are somehow expecting that it is someone else's job to make them all better. It is not. Sure, you can go on stress leave if you can get it, but unless willing to change yourself in some way, you may as well not go back, because pretty soon you will be off again, and again - and the gap between will get shorter and shorter. The workload can decrease, but at some point, what work are you actually doing?
However, there are plenty of ways to both manage stress and improve skills to feel less stressed, but it requires conscious work to make it matter. It isn't an overnight fix, just like the people with the resilience and skills to not get stresses working by your side, didn't get their abilities overnight. Humans are highly adaptable to environments, but we have weakened ourselves through culture and conditioning to be rigid, unflexing, and fragile.
Yet, few will agree.
Taraz
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