What really causes burnout?
Many of the books and articles you may have read make it pretty clear - burnout is caused by X and the solution is Y. Pretty simple. One cause. One solution.
But that is not what we heard in our interviews with people who burned out. There was no single cause of their burnout. There were multiple. And they varied by person.
We tallied what appeared to be the dominant causes from each of the interviews. Here is how it looked.
We also listened for organizational level causes
In our interviews, a single factor on its own (e.g. unrealistic workload
It’s like fast food. The odd burger every so often is not bad for you. It’s when you consume a Cheeseburger Combo meal every day for a year that you get into trouble.
Most of our interviewees ignored the combo’s they were consuming each day. They weren’t aware of the risk until they looked back afterwards and it was too late.
If you intend to work hard and perform at a high level, you’ll be fine. As long as you are not feasting on a burnout combo meal every day.
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To check your current risk level, look at the lists above and check off any factors that you feel apply to you. How many do you have?
Zero factors - great (why are you even reading this post?)
One factor – nothing to see here, move along
Two factors – take note, your plate is filling
Three factors – you’ve got a combo
Four plus – you’ve overfilled at the buffet. Don’t pile anything else on
Look at your list and ask, could I keep working with this ‘combo’ for the next 18 months? Would I want to?
If the answer is ‘no’, it’s might be time to make some changes.
If you feel like you may be experiencing some burnout signals
Thanks to our research team for uncovering these insights and more to come: Ryan Bricker, Mitchell Stallard, Michael Campbell, Lisa Mackay, Meera Craston, Iain Cleland, Dr Cherrie Daley, Matt Bartlett-Bond MSc GMBPsS, Karrie Wainscott, Dana Mix, MA, SPHR, Dr. Pylin Chuapetcharasopon, Asher James, Melissa Muirhead, Ruth Prendergast, Simone Falkenstein
Regulatory Counsel and Compliance professional | Organisational leadership and Burnout Coach helping high performers build resilience through nervous system regulation | 121 coaching, corporate workshops
9moExactly - it is rarely one thing but the pressure of an unsustainable load of factors that causes burnout. What is needed is a deep overhaul of people's beliefs through self exploration, connection with values and overall purpose. There is sadly no quick fix and one size does not fit all, although there is a roadmap that I use based on my own experience which is particularly helpful.
Human Resources Specialist at Pinocchio Project 4u
1yIzka González Fascinating!
Manager | Enfuse Group | Management Consulting | My parents still don't know what I do for work
1yMark H Clark
Learning Facilitator + Programme Manager | Connecting the dots for people - to their potential, their patterns + what's possible | Advocate for Flexible Work + The Mental Load | ACC Coach
1yNorma - I think you'll enjoy this.
Your Leadership & Career Coach ★ I help motivate ambitious professionals take action and unlock their career potential ★ Public Sector I Military I Athletes ★ Build clarity, confidence & purpose ★ DISC
1yThis is fascinating and I'd love to talk to you more about this please. I am a Performance Coach and NLP Practitioner around career transition. My background is the Public Sector as a management consultant. I have a real interest in resilience and what that means to people to mitigate burnout. Values are so important so it is really interesting to see (and a great way to set it out with the 3 degrees and cheeseburger combo!) what your research has shown :)