Burnout & Resilience Insights: A Conversation Between Workplace Psychologists (Part 1 of 3)

Editor's Note: This discussion was moderated by Mariko Harman. It has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Part 1: “Employees are feeling burned out. Now what?”

Dr. Powell: Our clients are constantly trying to do more with less. This means greater workloads and job demands, and higher levels of stress. We know that too much stress reduces employee effectiveness and raises the risk of burn out. What can we do about this?

Dr. Yost: The first step in dealing with employee burnout is to address what’s going on emotionally. When employees are burned out, they feel exhausted, cynical, and ineffective. They often feel out of control. So we take a page from clinical psychology and tell people to give themselves permission to start building a fence.

Dr. Powell: You’re talking about something different from creating boundaries, right?

Dr. Yost: Yes, “boundaries” are too broad. This is more specific and means to start taking small steps to take care of yourself so you can begin feeling less exhausted and more in control. An easy metaphor is building a fence. Think – “If I were to build a fence right now,what do I need to do this moment? What will I need tonight? What will I need tomorrow?” This starts addressing the emotional aspects of burnout.

The next thing is to take care of yourself physically. Ask yourself – “Am I getting enough sleep? Am I getting exercise? Healthy food? What’s my relationship like with alcohol? Have a seen a medical doctor lately?”

Research suggests that if you had to choose one of these to start with, it should be exercise. When you exercise, you feel more in control, you get hungry (and eat!), you sleep better at night. So go for a 20-minute walk today. That’s all it takes. The point is to let yourself start immediately and start small. But just start!

Dr. Powell: What about social relationships? As a coach I’ve suggested to managers that they encourage their employees to talk with each other about how they are feeling. I have even facilitated conversations with teams. It is vital for people to talk about their experiences and learn that they are not alone.

Dr. Yost: Yes, social relationships are incredibly helpful for those experiencing burnout. There’s some good research that came out of Covid – the extent to which people helped others during Covid kept them emotionally healthy during the pandemic. So go help someone.

Dr. Powell: Ok so if employees are burnt out, science and practice affirm they need to:

• Build a fence (get specific and start) – What do you need right now?
• Take care of themselves physically – Go on a walk today and tomorrow
• Connect with others – Talk to co-workers about how you’re feeling

Those are all things that are within our control. What about preventing burnout to begin with? We’ll be covering that topic in Part Two of the series.

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Reference:

Yost, P.R. (2024, August 7-10). Invited Address: Surviving and thriving in organizations. American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Seattle, WA, United States.