Burnout = High Responsibility + Low Power
Burnout is generally a topic that comes up in discussions about employee satisfaction. It is well documented that those with a lot of responsibility, yet very little influence or say in things (i.e., middle management) are at the highest risk for burnout. Comparatively, individuals at the top of the employment chain have high levels of responsibility, but also have a lot of control. Those at the bottom have no control, but they also have limited responsibility. In situations where a person has a lot of responsibility and very little control, risk for burnout is high.
Burnout is associated with both of the following:
Physical Symptoms like exhaustion, stomach trouble, high blood pressure, poor sleep, and headaches.
Emotional Symptoms like dissatisfaction, poor focus, low productivity, low sense of accomplishment, unreasonable expectations, hopelessness, irritability, and low self-esteem.
This list of symptoms sounds a lot like depression, doesn’t it?
The formula for burnout has now played out in our global response to COVID-19. The stakes feel incredibly high – we’re concerned about catching a deadly virus, our high risk family member catching it, losing our jobs, and having to sacrifice our way of life all while continuing to be stellar employees, supportive partners, and good parents. That is a lot of responsibility! And on top of it all, we have little to no control. Sure, we can wash our hands and wear our masks (and please do those things!) but we have zero control over the behavior of others, how many employees our company can afford to retain, when schools will reopen, or how the vaccines will be distributed.
So if you are feeling burned out right now, I’m here to tell you that it makes sense and you’re not alone! Here are a few things you can do about it:
Identify what you can control and what you cannot control.
Give zero energy to things you cannot control. Here is an exercise I do this with my clients who are plagued by chronic worries about all of this.
Take out a piece of paper.
Draw a line down the middle.
On the left, write the things you can control. You might have to think on this one, but trust me, there are things you do have control over (e.g. washing your hands, what time you wake up, what you eat, social distancing, how much media you consume, etc.).
On the right side of the paper, write things you don’t have control over (e.g., your local ordinances, vaccine distribution, schools reopening, other people ignoring public health directives).
Now here’s the tricky part – radically accept that the things on the right side of the paper are going to take place and do not spend one ounce of energy worrying about them. Focus your attention to those things on the left. Will it change the situation? No. But will it change your relationship to the situation? Absolutely.
Set clear expectations and boundaries.
This is how you increase the amount of power and control you have and rework that formula! A good place to start is with the things on the left side of that list you made above. Did you write only a few things there? I find that people struggle to place things in the “control” column because doing so would require setting some boundaries. Think you can’t control your screen time? Set an end time for work. Think you can’t control how much self-care time you have? Stop committing to anything you don’t want to do and prioritize what nourishes your soul. You can tell your friend that you aren’t going to their in-person wedding with 100+ guests. You can tell you boss that you aren’t comfortable coming back to the office yet. You can tell your parents that you aren’t celebrating Easter in-person this year. You cannot control their reaction, but you can control your choices, and this will give you an increased sense of control. This may take some flexibility and creativity, but don’t be afraid to set boundaries.
Adjust your expectations.
The amount of people I have spoken to (self included) who had wild expectations that went unmet during this last has year has been staggering. Remember when we had our first two-week lock down and everyone began baking bread, starting food blogs, and learning TikTok dances? We felt so much pressure to be productive and to be our best selves. But the reality is that we were (and still are) living through a global trauma. So if all you did this last year was keep yourself, your pets, and your houseplants alive, then you are killing it! So much of our depression (notice I didn’t say ALL of it) comes from unmet expectations. So what if we shift those expectations? Maybe I don’t have to start a side hustle or write a book in this time. Maybe it’s ok if my skin is a mess and I’m don’t wake up feeling on top of the world every day. Really check your expectations and take stock of how you are truly performing in this time. I’ve noticed that many of us are doing a whole lot better than we think we are.
Change what isn’t working for you.
One thing we are all grappling with, as case rates plummet and the vaccine rolls out, is deciding what version of normal we want to go back to. Do you really want to be doing all of those things you were doing just over a year ago? Running yourself into the ground, overcommitting, and overspending? Well, we have just proved a few things to ourselves:
We have the ability to do our jobs remotely/differently.
We desperately need community.
Haircuts are not as vital as we thought they were.
Our physical and mental health are of utmost importance.
So really ask yourself what you want to return to, and advocate for that! Again, this is how you decrease responsibility and increase the power and control portion in this formula.
As we re-adjust after a year of adjustment, know that this won’t be easy. But it also doesn’t mean we have to be burned out. This last year has been characterized by high responsibility and low control, but as we move back towards normalcy, consider how you might increase your control and lower your responsibility to balance that burnout.
If you need a mental health professional to help you better understand your feelings of burnout, you can sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with our therapist matchmaker. She’ll help you find the therapist who’s a great fit for you. (California residents only). We provide virtual online therapy and have therapists who are trained in EMDR therapy. We also offer many different types of trauma therapy groups and all of our therapists specialize in trauma-informed care, and informed trauma therapy.
