HOW TO AVOID BURNOUT IN YOUR WORKPLACE
About 4 years ago I had 4 young children and was having little sleep, I’d moved house 2x in a year having moved 4 more times in the previous 6 years, and was anaemic meaning I had little energy. My life required more of me than I could physically give. I ended up in a heap, making a cup of tea at times felt overwhelming. But the show must go on. My kids needed me, my husband and I worked within communities that needed us, my work needed me. As a positive and energetic person by nature, this was an extremely unfamiliar and frustrating situation to find myself in.
Throughout Covid, I have been giving workshops to various companies around the subject of ‘Staying Positive and Resourceful in Uncertain times’ and something I can see trending is the emotion of ‘What’s wrong with me? I’m normally so positive, this isn’t like me to feel so despondent and unmotivated’. If that’s you or your team, keep reading. This is a key strategy piece for how to increase and enable performance and morale.
Having new uncomfortable emotions is not much fun. In boxing terms, the 'right hook' is often unexpected and swipes at the boxer out of nowhere. You may feel on some days like you are being hit out of nowhere. Fear not, you are in good company if you are finding yourself feeling things you haven’t felt before. Our brains can only handle so much uncertainty. Did you know the brain has little fits (non-dangerous) when faced with uncertainty? I wonder how your brain is doing? Is it any wonder you are feeling things you haven’t felt before?
What can be done about it? Whilst I love to help people access their motivation, more than anything I can see right now that people need ‘Time to Think.’
Author and Coach Nancy Kline has a whole business model and book entitled ‘Time to Think’ where she suggests that the most valuable thing we can offer each other is the framework in which to think for ourselves.
However, thinking alone can be onerous as it’s not as easy to do as we expect.
Having someone else there to help the process enables us to examine a thought, which in turn is a belief, and to inspect it from each angle to metabolise it constructively. This applies to all things, from business ideas you are considering, interpersonal relationships, home-schooling to budgeting or even team performance. Thinking intentionally enables us to learn from experience and so project a wiser, more informed and successful future. It enables us to live with focus and be proactive rather than roll with the punches.
So how do we create time to think? We need someone else. We need someone to give us the time to metabolise the unexpected. Whilst in the past this may sound similar to therapy or needs-based only, I would argue that it’s a necessary play in modern business if we want to succeed.
The burnout I experienced 4 years ago was largely due to a lack of focused thinking time. I was sinking in an ocean and just carried on. From the outside, I probably looked fine, but on the inside, I didn’t know my up from my down. If I had taken time out to think with someone, I would have been able to look under the belly of my overwhelming beast and inspect what was working and what wasn’t. I'd have been able to ditch half of the unhelpful thoughts and beliefs I was unconsciously carrying.
Who in your organisation looks fine on Zoom, but on the inside doesn’t know their up from their down?
So, I leave you with these questions today.
Has your organisation got space to think?
Have you given yourself an hour recently to metabolise these past few months or years?
Have you had a mental detox to prevent any low-level burnout?
Who can you think and process with?
For further insight, reach out at info@dollywaddell.com