Professional burnout syndrome has been discussed more and more frequently in recent years. Where does it come from?
– Many condescendingly refer to a person’s emotional, mental state, especially in the organizational setting. It is believed to connect a strong-willed resource – and you can study further. But the reserves of this adaptive energy are not infinite and disappear at some point.
In the 20th century, the American psychologist Karen Horney proved that the modern system of work is organized in such a way that a person is constantly in competition, competition, competition, always wanting to go around his neighbor. Moreover, these relationships are transferred not only to the organizational, but also to the family environment, to the educational environment. And eventually, the person begins to experience an inferiority complex, realizing that it is difficult to reach the set bar.
Is high bar bad?
I work a lot in the field of leadership and corporate culture and I see that the principles of building a modern organization can be called leadership ideology. In other words, the productivity, hard work and motivation of every person in the workplace should be above the average.
According to the normal distribution, 70% of people are very close to each other in many ways, including productivity. But in the modern organization of labor, from this normal distribution the right tail, that is, those with these parameters above the average values, are selected. Such people make up at best 12-15% of the total population, but they are considered the kind of norm that everyone should strive for. And for many it is easy to guess that this has turned into serious internal tension. This stress, this disappointment, this depression – because you always feel like you don’t have time, you can’t finish something. But in reality it is not a personal problem of the employee, but a problem of establishing a work organization.
The general formula for labor rationing is as follows: They take the most productive worker and the average worker and divide the result of their work in half. A conditional norm is emerging that really exceeds the normal potential of the employees of the organization. And of course, from here comes such a thing as emotional burnout, which was even included in the International Classification of Diseases in 2001 as a set of various physiological, psychological, and social variables that clearly indicate a threat to the mental and mental. a person’s somatic health.
– It would seem that burnout was talked about not because they began to pay more attention to it, but because it really is more common in modern society than before?
– Definitely. In this context, I remember Bill Gates’s book Trading at the Speed of Thought. There he writes, before society and the economy developed like this: Suddenly there was a fairly long strip of stability interspersed with some kind of turbulence, and now we see a long strip of turbulence interspersed with short periods of rest. . Such intermittent chaos. And this vision is quite consistent with today’s reality.
– Does the problem only affect ordinary employees or managers?
– This applies to both ordinary employees and leaders in managerial positions. They also have to strive for high standards. And as a result, such a load disables good specialists, while supporting those who, above all, know how to present themselves well – because if you present yourself correctly, you can get rewards and incentives without much investment in the activity itself.
Who is most prone to occupational burnout?
– First of all, these are representatives of the so-called sociological professions, they are also called “male to man” – medical workers, teachers, lawyers. Typically, people in these occupations have a strong sense of empathy. They are inclined to a certain sympathy, to daydream, to idealize their work, meaning. In addition, these are people of creative professions – as they say, “it’s easy to offend an artist.”
In general, the greater the cognitive-psychological component of the job, the higher the risk of burnout. And it goes down for those who simply stamp parts or fry cutlets at the factory.
If we consider the personality type, introverts, people with low self-esteem, people with increased conflict will suffer. If we take the variant of temperament, then they are primarily choleric and melancholic.
Is occupational burnout primarily a decline in work capacity?
– The threats inherent in the modern business organization operate at all levels, so the symptoms of burnout can be very diverse. Physically, it is insomnia, extreme fatigue, weakness, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, high blood pressure.
There may be emotional problems. Or emotional rigidity – that is, rigidity, dryness, a certain feeling of loneliness, isolation or, conversely, emotional outbursts – tantrums, aggression, a kind of “Brazilian” suffering.
Behavioral manifestations, of course: alcohol and smoking, increased impulsivity, sometimes eating disorders.
Burnout affects the intellectual sphere: a person loses interest in the new, in development, and even what was interesting before becomes somewhat hateful. Well, social: It seems that they do not understand it, do not support it. Sometimes it begins to affect relatives, friends and relatives. In the working collective, such a person is excluded from his colleagues.
Are there any stages in the burnout process?
— There are several stages in the development of professional burnout. The first is a certain appearance, such as an unusual tension, fatigue. Everything takes a little extra effort, which seems to have gone unnoticed before. The second stage is already a strong feeling of pressure, stress. Third, violations in all three components: physiological, emotional-cognitive and behavioral. The fourth is what Danish pathologist Hans Selye calls “nuisance”.
This is an irreversible harm to the human body and spirit. This can also manifest itself on a purely physiological plane – stress brings a person to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, stomach ulcers.
Or what happens with ordinary people is called “the roof is going down”: a person undergoes changes on a personal level, his attitude towards the world, towards people completely changes. The last fifth stage is close to detached, suicidal states, in which a person has already lost all meaning in his activity and life.
— What is occupational deformation?
– It is a situation where a person at work begins to fulfill his functions so castrated, formally, as if it were not the work that once fascinated him, warmed him. This is especially evident in “man-to-man” occupations, which depend on the employee’s contact with other people (teachers, doctors). psychologists. This greatly affects the quality of work.
And the person who does not realize his situation transfers these problems to the family, which causes all kinds of conflicts.
With such a variety of symptoms, of course there are problems with the diagnosis. And if the doctor is not aware of the possible mental background of the complaints, it can be difficult to determine their cause.
— Could professional burnout be caused not only by work activity but also by other factors?
– Yes, of course. Seasonal emotional disorders, physical inactivity, family problems, lack of interest and much more also contribute. And here the basic attitude adopted by a person consciously or unconsciously is important. This attitude determines the basic value that a person sees in himself and in other people. Any internal and external factor can trigger burnout if they fail to see their own worth, problem-solving abilities, and resources.
– Those who complain that they are tired from work are generally advised to rest and go on vacation. But then the person will come back to the same disturbing factors and face the same problems. How to deal with burnout correctly?
– A vacation or a change of environment can indeed somewhat reduce the negative effects of burnout. But any syndrome is a systemic phenomenon, a complex of signs that are interrelated, united by a single mechanism of formation and development. Therefore, prevention and treatment should also be systemic. And if the same phenomenon is observed after the vacation, you need to seek professional help from a psychologist who will conduct a comprehensive diagnosis of the syndrome, help to understand its root causes and choose an effective treatment.
If we talk about the fight against employee burnout for the company itself, one of the key points is fairness. This is understood as a correspondence between what a person gives to the organization and what the organization gives to him.
Western studies show that almost 90% of staff find their company unfair. And if you’re working in an unfair environment, then you don’t trust the company with that breathtaking attitude that gives management an overall increase in quality, quantity, and productivity that it will want to take. And strong motivation is a great cure for burnout. Creativity is in man. And the task of the leadership here is to build an organizational culture, such a structure, in which people will achieve very ambitious results, on the one hand, and on the other hand, they will do it with great pleasure and great pleasure. about some emotional burnout they’ll never remember.