DEVELOPMENT as a lack of close personal relationships , too many responsibilities , poor sleep , the need to be perfect and the need to control all increase the risk of burnout . At work , there are six influential areas – and Cheryl was suffering from all of them :
Beating job burnout in the EA world
The pandemic has pressured everyone more than ever , even the strongest of EAs . The fact that ‘ burnout ’ has become an everyday word says it all . Here , Petris Lapis explains what causes burnout and , crucially , what you can do to get to a better place .
THE EXPERT
Petris Lapis has worked in accounting , law , academia , banking , business and training . She has consulted to government and industry and published several books and hundreds of papers . She has studied commerce , law , coaching , NLP and hypnosis . Petris is a rower , a coach and a mum to two teenagers . She loves warm sunny days , great food , laughter , exercise and moments of calm .
Let ’ s start with a case study . I met Cheryl when her exec sent her to me for coaching to ‘ deal with ’ her attitude . Apparently , Cheryl was increasingly cynical about the company , impatient with her colleagues , having trouble concentrating and no longer took pride in her work .
When I asked further , Cheryl had previously been an engaged and happy employee . Quickly , I realised she was experiencing job burnout . Three factors gave it away : w Her exhaustion was a chronic stress response from having too much to do with high time pressures . w Her cynicism was a result of feeling negative and hostile towards her job . w Her behaviour e . g ., impatience with others showed she was having negative feelings about herself . Cheryl felt she wasn ’ t good enough and had made a mistake in taking the job .
Where does job burnout come from ? It doesn ’ t just arise at work . Personal factors , such w Workload – Cheryl had too much to do in short timeframes . w Control – Cheryl couldn ’ t control her volume of work or when it was due . Her workload was entirely a result of her exec . w Reward – Not pay , but rather recognition of a job well done . Cheryl ’ s boss never thanked her or openly appreciated what she did , regardless of the effort she made . w Workplace community – Cheryl felt bullied by her boss and without anyone she could confide in . w Fairness – We all want to be respected and Cheryl didn ’ t feel she was being treated fairly . w Values and meaningfulness – Cheryl was unhappy that her manager regularly asked her to bypass company regulations to ‘ make things happen ’.
All in all , it ’ s no wonder Cheryl was experiencing job burnout . But her boss saw her as the problem .
Explaining with an analogy I explained to Cheryl about the canary in the mine . When the canary enters the mine , it ’ s happy and singing . If it comes out covered in soot and sick , we don ’ t ask why the canary made itself sick or send it to a resilience workshop . We look at what ’ s going on in the mine .
Suggesting some time off then sending the canary back into the same mine isn ’ t going to improve things . Likewise , Cheryl taking time off and coming back into the same situation wouldn ’ t help her . Things must change to generate a different outcome .
The next steps First , we looked at the six areas above and identified small , easy changes that could be made . She decided to speak up about the requests against company policies and I spoke with her manager about being more appreciative .
Next , we looked at what Cheryl could do on a personal basis – regular contact with friends , prioritising , relaxation techniques and exercise . Anything that looked after her physical , emotional and mental wellbeing was valuable .
It breaks my heart as a coach when I see good people no longer engaged or motivated because they ’ re burned out . If this is you , can you take heart then take the small steps you need to recover love and appreciation of what you do every day ? S www . artisanofchange . com
Winter Issue 2022 | Executive PA 57