SMART THINKING

Work burnout is a huge issue – so how can we prevent it?

Work burnout is turning into a huge issue.

Work stress may be nothing new – but it’s becoming a far bigger problem than you might expect. The World Health Organisation (WHO) listed burnout in its latest International Classification of Diseases – defining it as a “syndrome … resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”. The WHO listing said that burnout was characterised by feelings of exhaustion, mental distance from a job, reduced professional efficacy, and feelings of negativity related to one’s job. More than 20 years of research on burnout have identified six main risk factors – workload, control, fairness, values, reward and community. Work overload depletes a person’s capacity to meet the demands of their job, and offers little chance to rest and recover. Regarding control, research shows that when employees are able to exercise professional autonomy, they’re more likely to experience job engagement. Fairness is the extent to which work decisions are seen as being equitable, and values are the ideals that attracted people to their job. Insufficient reward (whether financial or social) increases people’s vulnerability to burnout, as it devalues the work and the workers. Community relates to relationships in the workplace. When there’s a lack of support and trust, there’s a greater risk of burnout. Burnout must be addressed as it can lead to serious health issues such as depression, immune disorders, insomnia and cardiovascular disease. Fortunately, research published by Julie Goldberg and Christina Maslach from the University of California shows that there are things you can do to protect yourself from burnout. These include changing work patterns, developing coping skills, obtaining social support and utilising relaxation strategies.