The Covid pandemic may have subsided, but employers continue to face an epidemic of a different kind — work burnout. According to recent SHRM research, 51% of staff members feel used up at the end of the workday, 45% feel emotionally drained, and 44% feel burned out. And rank-and-file employees aren’t the only ones who are suffering.
Quantum Workplace says those in managerial positions are experiencing the highest work burnout rates, with managers at 41% and those in director-level roles at 45%. These statistics should be enough to make any organization take notice. But work burnout is just the tip of the iceberg. Left unchecked, it can erode engagement and retention.
With so much at stake, we recently asked members of our community to answer these questions:
Have you experienced work burnout? How did you overcome it? What advice would you recommend to others?
In response, we received eight insightful answers from professional coaches, HR executives and other leaders. Their slice-of-life stories provide practical guidance for individuals as well as organizations that want to improve overall workforce wellbeing and resilience:
- Recognize Self-Imposed Pressure and Slow Down
- Prioritize Self-Care
- Extend Empathy and Reprioritize Goals
- Define Work Availability Boundaries
- Take a Digital Detox and Redefine Expectations
- Set Personal Goals to Balance Work Demands
- Communicate Needs and Establish a Routine
- Advocate for Your Health
For more details and ideas you can use, read on…
Lessons Learned: 8 Ways to Conquer Work Burnout
1. Recognize Self-Imposed Pressure and Slow Down
It wasn’t clear to me just how burned-out I was in my leadership role until the anxiety became overwhelming. I cared too much, gave too much, and took on more than I should. The pace was unsustainable. Because I was doing too much and moving too fast, it felt like I was missing out on relationships — and on life. I had to slow down.
I stepped back and realized that I was putting this pressure on myself because that’s how I thought I needed to behave professionally. That awareness gave me the power to choose how I really wanted to approach work and life.
I made a conscious effort to slow down and make personal and business relationships a priority. This includes my relationship with myself. Now, I make time for my own wellbeing and have created much clearer boundaries around my time.
Rather than letting life happen to me, I took charge by clarifying what I believe is important — my values and priorities — and how I want to live. I left my corporate role and have pursued a professional path that is much better-suited to the contributions I want to make in the world.
I am much happier living this way. Although some days I still find myself overreaching. But now it’s much easier for me to notice this issue and make changes to avoid becoming overwhelmed and stressed.
Sometimes we feel pressure from others. But often, we cause our own stress by letting our thoughts about ourselves and our productivity drive our actions. It’s essential to bring our minds under control if we want to move beyond burnout and learn new ways to approach work.
Dr. Julie Donley, Executive Coach and Author, Nurturing Your Success LLC
2. Prioritize Self-Care
My experience with burnout was a significant challenge. Actually, it was a turning point in my leadership journey. It occurred at a rapidly growing start-up company, where the excitement of scaling was accompanied by 80-hour weeks, increased responsibilities and a relentless pursuit of success. I began to feel exhausted, super-stressed, and overwhelmed. Even worse, I felt guilty for neglecting my family.
Fortunately, I recognized these symptoms as signs of work burnout. So I reevaluated my behaviors and my approach to work-life balance. Now, I prioritize self-care and try to set clear boundaries between work and personal time. Regular exercise and quality time with my loved ones are also top priorities. To maintain these boundaries, I’m more disciplined about my work hours. I’m more aware of the importance of disconnecting and practicing mindfulness.
In addition, I try to better manage others’ expectations. Also, I strive to delegate more effectively, giving my team more responsibility and autonomy. This not only reduces my workload but also empowers my team, which builds a stronger sense of trust and collaboration.
This process taught me that vulnerability isn’t necessarily a weakness. It can be a critical quality of effective leadership. Sharing my experience with my team opened up a dialogue about mental health and wellbeing, which prompted changes that have led to a healthier work environment for everyone.
For anyone facing similar challenges, please be aware of the signs of burnout and act immediately when you see them. If you’re a leader, remember that finding help and adapting your leadership approach is not a sign of weakness. It’s a step toward healthy, sustainable success.
Also keep in mind that you aren’t the only one who benefits from an environment where work-life balance is valued. It also sets a positive example for your team, and contributes to a more engaging, resilient work culture.
Etty Burk, Ph.D., President, Founder, HR Advisor, Leading With Difference
3. Extend Empathy and Reprioritize Goals
During the pandemic, we all faced immense pressure. Many of us were juggling work, home life, and grief as well. It became crucial to extend empathy to others, as well as ourselves. This concept seems simple in theory. But in practice, it is more challenging.
As leaders, we made tough decisions. For example, we encouraged people to break from the usual routine. Often, remaining team members shouldered more than their fair share of work.
In addition, we reconsidered goals and reprioritized them. Anything that wasn’t immediately essential was set aside. But when tackling the essentials, leaders often stepped-up involvement to ensure team members received continuous support. Active encouragement played a significant role in boosting morale and giving everyone strength to navigate through tough times. But too many people became casualties of burnout.
My advice for handling serious challenges is to pause and assess the situation. Ask yourself, “How can I approach this differently?” Reflection is invaluable. But it can happen only if we acknowledge the difficulty of the circumstances, and allow ourselves the space to consider alternative solutions.
Enma Popli, Executive Coach and Podcast Host, Atalanta Diaries
4. Define Work Availability Boundaries
Experiencing work-related burnout was a defining moment in my career as an HR leader. The culmination of long hours, high expectations, and constant pressure to meet organizational and employee needs led to a point where I felt both physically and emotionally drained. I realized significant changes were necessary to preserve my effectiveness and wellbeing.
The turning point came when I decided to prioritize self-care and set clear boundaries between work and personal life. This meant being disciplined about my work hours, delegating more responsibilities to my team, and making time for activities that rejuvenated me outside of work.
One actionable piece of advice I’d share is the importance of establishing boundaries and communicating about them. It’s essential to set clear limits on your availability, and you’ll need to ensure that others respect them. This might involve specifying hours when you are unavailable for work-related communication (unless it’s an emergency). Or you might schedule specific days/times for uninterrupted deep-work.
Overcoming burnout taught me the critical role of self-care and boundary-setting as a leader. By sharing this experience, I hope you’ll take proactive steps to prevent burnout before it jeopardizes your health and professional life.
Steven Mostyn, Chief Human Resources Officer, Management.org
5. Take a Digital Detox and Reset Expectations
As an entrepreneur, I’ve experienced burnout. The constant overwhelm and pressure eventually drained me to the point where I literally couldn’t do any meaningful work for weeks. Everything I once found fulfilling suddenly felt meaningless and didn’t bring me joy.
What helped me turn things around was a short digital detox. For a few days I went completely off the grid. Then, I slowly reintegrated work, using a daily planner app called Sunsama to manage my schedule. Sunsama includes daily planning rituals that helped me see how unrealistic my workload really was.
Turns out, I was trying to cram 10+ hours of focused work into each day! Now, this app helps protect me from over-committing, I prioritize ruthlessly, say “no” more often, and get more quality work done. I also feel much happier and more inspired every morning!
My advice is this: find tools that help you enforce boundaries and cut down on the mindless busywork. You’ll regain a sense of control and make space for meaningful work that actually moves the needle.
Juliet Dreamhunter, Founder & AI Strategist, Juliety
6. Set Personal Goals to Balance Work Demands
As the head of a recruiting firm, my burnout story began when I became completely overwhelmed by the demands of running the agency. I was constantly working long hours, dealing with difficult clients, and struggling to meet targets while keeping my team engaged and motivated.
The stress began to take a toll on my mental and physical health. I felt exhausted, irritable, and demotivated, even as my productivity reached an all-time low.
To overcome burnout, I started setting personal goals in the same planner I used for managing work objectives. For instance:
- On weekends, I reserved a slot to socialize. This gave me time to contact friends or relatives with whom I had lost touch due to my demanding work life.
- I planned daily workouts in advance and asked my personal trainer to help me follow through.
- I even kept hydration goals and downloaded a calorie-tracking app to keep my diet in check.
This short-term personal goal setting enabled me to look beyond work and prioritize my wellbeing. And slowly but steadily, I recovered from burnout.
Joe Coletta, Founder & CEO, 180 Engineering
7. Communicate Needs and Establish a Routine
Prioritizing self-care relieved me from Covid-era burnout. As General Manager at a fast-paced recruiting firm, I struggled to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
It was especially difficult after the first few months of the pandemic. Worrying about the future of our industry was hard enough. But the stress only mounted during the long pause in hiring, as I tried to manage a team of recruiters with nothing to keep them busy.
It didn’t help that working from home felt like living at the office. We all struggled to give each other space while working on projects we had previously cast aside.
Soon enough, my mind started blanking out. I had memory lapses and struggled with routine work tasks. It felt like I was working all day but achieving nothing.
So I started communicating with my team about this problem. We also discussed the need for boundaries. It helped immensely.
Then, I committing to a daily routine:
- Each morning, I started with a 30-minute jog before going to my home office.
- At 5 p.m. sharp, I unplugged my work laptop and switched off my company phone.
- I invested in some exercise equipment and started a fitness routine.
- Rather than eating take-out food, I prepared home-cooked meals.
- Also, I began sleeping at least least eight hours a night.
Eventually, these habits helped me recover. I believe burnout manifests in the form of mental and physical exhaustion. But when you work on addressing both, you can speed up recovery.
Ben Lamarche, General Manager, Lock Search Group
8. Advocate for Your Health
The reason why I am so passionate about work-life balance and have spent over 20 years advocating for it is because I’ve struggled through work burnout, myself. I drank the Kool-Aid and worked 80-hour weeks in corporate America. And along the way, I sacrificed my own health. It nearly killed me.
Clearly, I had to learn how to manage stress. But first, I had to decide that my wellbeing matters! My situation turned around once I began treating my health and wellness as if they’re just as important as any business meeting.
Bottom line: No one can do this for you. You have to decide that your life is a priority and act on your own behalf.
Lorraine Bossé-Smith, Chief Solutions Officer, Concept One LLC
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