The Office
There’s a dark side to burning too brightly at work, writes Lyndall Crisp.
The telltale signs when overtime turns toxic
WE’VE ALL known them: the colleague who thinks work is life; the person who spends every waking hour planning, strategising and striving for excellence. It’s a 24/7 occupation.
Then – wham! – anxiety, depression, lack of confidence and poor performance kick in. It’s called burnout. Welcome to the 21stcentury workplace, where the fallout from obsessive determination no matter the cost is one reason health professionals are so busy.
Mike McKinney, psychologist and author of All or Nothing, has seen the trend among mostly male patients aged 40 to 55. It’s not new but it has accelerated and expanded across the workforce, from professional to blue-collar workers and from the top ranks down. And, he predicts, as more women join the executive ranks, they will suffer, too.
“More and more people are coming to see me with symptoms of pushing themselves too hard and having no sense of anything else in life but work,” he says. “They shut out everything else to achieve their goals.”
These people don’t prioritise – or aren’t aware of – their own welfare. It’s usually their partner or the human resources department that persuades them to seek help. “They’re putting the goals of the company ahead of themselves,” says McKinney, “and they develop a negative perfection: a fear of failure.”
Telltale signs of burnout are the inability to finish a project, disengagement at meetings and waning performance. But it’s never too late to reverse it, says McKinney. First, help the person understand what’s going on, what contributed and how to avoid the same traps. “Often, they’ll say, ‘I am the job.’ I tell them: ‘There’s more to you – have you forgotten?’”
According to not-for-profit research and training group Mental Health First Aid, stress-related absenteeism and presenteeism (continuing to go to work when you’re unable to be fully productive) cost Australian employers $10.1 billion annually. In addition, 3.2 days per worker are lost each year due to workplace stress.
“There are certainly more people going to see psychologists and counsellors,” says Nick Glozier, professor of psychological medicine at The University of Sydney. “Data shows some professions are more prone to burnout; it’s increasing, particularly in caring professions. The best thing is organisational interventions: dealing with workplace cultures [and] long hours and not placing conflicting or unreasonable demands on people. For men, [the solution] appears to be the ability to control their workload. For women, it’s more about social support in the workplace.”
For people who won’t seek professional help, McKinney suggests they begin by using their well-developed business skills to find some balance in their life. They need to identify the personal cost of operating the way they do and consider what their values – as opposed to their goals – are. “Then reflect if their way of doing things fits with – or clashes with – those,” he explains. “If they check in with their values, they may find a template to measure their level of effort; one that offers more chance to account for a range of variables rather than just the work role.”
Technological interventions are taking off, particularly in rural areas where professional help may not be available, says Glozier. Many companies, including insurers and health providers, have developed mental-health apps for in-house use. “They offer... things you might get from a psychologist or counsellor: techniques for managing sleep hygiene and tools to help with exercise and diet.” For more information about symptoms and treatments, go to beyondblue.org.au.