The group of 15 are members of a team spread across several Australian states; working across all the different states and territories, visiting customers where they need to.
Our workshop was all about wellbeing, and how low states of wellbeing are the enemy of high performance culture.
The manager who organised the session realised that the team has been doing it tough on the back of the last couple of years; and so we worked through a number of different activities designed to assess their wellbeing, including understanding what wellbeing is, and what impacts our wellbeing such as too much or the wrong kind of stress.
The activity that caused the biggest impact was the self-reflective quiz: ‘How at risk of burnout are you?’; and a few short minutes of answering the quiz and analysing results lead to a very lengthy discussion.
Why?
Because of the 15 people who completed the quiz, the results looked like this:
- 8 identified as being ‘at risk of burnout’
- 6 identified as being at ‘Severe risk of burnout’ and
- 1 person identified as being at ‘Very severe risk of burnout’.
Of course this team is not an island when it comes to results like this.
The World Health Organisation in 2019 (ie pre-pandemic) for the first time classified Burnout as a syndrome, defining it as:
1) Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
2) Increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
3) Reduced professional efficacy
And as of 1 January 2022 the WHO has for the first time recognised “burn-out” in its International Classification of Diseases (ICD).
A recent study by Asana looked at over 10,000 knowledge workers across seven countries, and found approximately 70% of people experienced burnout in the last year.
Why are so many people suffering from such high levels of stress and are at risk of severe burnout?
Whilst there are undoubtedly numerous factors at work, one common reason is that people feel overwhelmed.
Research by Deloitte and Workplace Intelligence across four countries, found 35% of workers were overwhelmed (and 43% reported being exhausted often or always).
Again – Why?
There are a myriad of factors at play here, and an even greater number of circumstances in which we see the highest risk of burnout.
Here are two that I have encountered frequently through my client work:
- Managers are taking on additional responsibilities over and above their normal substantive roles. The pandemic has obviously been the main cause of this, as managers had to step up and support their teams like they never have had to before, as well as dealing with all the ramifications of ‘pivoting’ and coping with rapid change.
- Too few employees = more work for those who remain. People are leaving their roles for better opportunities (hello there Great Resignation / Realignment), and subsequently not being replaced either due to the fact good talent is in short supply OR organisations are taking the opportunity to cut costs by not replacing staff. I heard just today of an employee in a global organisation who is currently doing the work that used to be done by FOUR different people.
From the good people at Asana, here are a few more reasons why individuals might be feeling overwhelmed:
- Having too much to do and not enough time.
- Having too many deadlines at once.
- Saying “yes” to too many requests.
- Feeling pressure to perform tasks outside of substantive job description.
- Not having the skills or tools needed to do the job well.
- Lack of support from manager or coworkers.
- Not knowing which tasks are most important.
- Lots of “urgent,” last-minute tasks.
- Unclear processes and roles, so individuals are constantly unsure what to do and who to talk to.
The same Asana article also outlines how to tell if you are feeling overwhelmed, such as:
- Feeling pessimistic about the future and your ability to perform tasks.
- Procrastinating on tasks.
- Feeling physically, mentally, or emotionally exhausted.
- Having trouble getting through the day.
What can I do to help my team members who are feeling overwhelmed?
First of all, be aware of any changes in your team member’s behaviour or performance. Sometimes when we are in the middle of feeling overwhelmed, it is hard for us to recognise that is why we are feeling like we are.
As the team leader, it may be easier for you to spot changes.
For example, your team member Jill is usually one of your best performers. She never misses a deadline, she always turns up and contributes in team connection and collaboration events, and you would normally describe Jill as upbeat and a positive influence on the team.
In the last couple of months though, you’ve noticed Jill is increasingly detached – not participating in team meetings, not turning up to events, seemingly uninterested in what is happening around her. Her performance has also noticeably declined, and she has taken more sick days in the past three months than in the previous five years before.
Warning bells! Red flags wave! Something is clearly up with Jill – and it could well be she is overwhelmed and at risk of severe burnout.
Noticing the changed behaviour and then discussing it with Jill – checking in to make sure she is ok – are one of the first things you can do as her manager.
What are other ways leaders can help their team members struggling with being overwhelmed?
Here’s an Infographic I prepared earlier.
What can I do to help myself when I am feeling overwhelmed?
One of the best ways to help yourself when you are personally struggling with too much, is to work on your personal boundaries.
One of the easiest ways to think about boundaries is to imagine that each day the amount of time and energy you have to spend that day is the size of a pie. Lemon curd for mine.
The size of everyone’s pie is unique to that person. But once the pie is gone / used up, you don’t get to bake another one until the following day.
So we need to be vigilant about what we use our pie for on any given day.
You should ask yourself (particularly when you are starting to feel overwhelmed), ‘If I say YES to this, what does that mean I can’t do / have to say NO to?’
You can use this mantra for both your personal and work life.
For example if Jill’s manager comes to her today and presents her with yet another project, whose deadline happens to be this Friday (when she already has three project deadlines due the same day), Jill could politely ask “If I do this project, which ones of the other 3 also due on Friday should push back and until when?”
Brene Brown is a big fan of boundaries, and suggests the following to help you manage your boundaries:
- Make a mantra. ie remind yourself, when you are faced with an awkward decision about whether you can take on one more thing or not -“I choose discomfort [of saying no] over resentment [of saying yes and being overwhelmed].”
- Keep a resentment journal. Whenever you are feeling resentful and/or dropping the F bomb more often than note, or feeling frustrated / angry most of the time, write down what’s going on. You may notice things such as you are most resentful when you’re tired and overwhelmed—i.e., when you aren’t setting or maintaining those boundaries.
- Rehearse. Practise saying to someone you trust, expressions like, “I can’t take that on” or “My plate is full”. Or back to my favourite Lemon curd pie example – “The pie is all gone. I have no more pie to give”. A good friend of mine, who shall remain nameless (but it might, fittingly, rhyme with Jolly), has another expression, but it’s not fit for polite society.
Setting and then maintaining boundaries is definitely not easy. Just like when you first start going to the gym to builda da muscles, you need to start small and keep continually, slowly but surely, working away at building the boundary muscle.
Below is another infographic to help you practice building those boundary muscles. Alas this one is not my work, but thanks to the good people at The Wellness Society.
Need help addressing your personal wellbeing or that of your team?
Workology Co can help via a mix of targeted solutions including individual coaching, wellbeing surveys, team workshops and access to a network of wellbeing professionals.
Let’s chat. But only when you have enough pie left to do so.