04/17/2024
It frustrates me that people experiencing burnout are told by their employers that they just need a change of attitude or better self-care, when in truth organizations are the ones responsible for causing burnout in their workers. Organizational leadership must shift towards treating their employees as humans, deserving of appreciation, support, and appropriate compensation; deserving of environments that build strong, healthy collegial relationships rather than toxic ones; deserving of having a voice, being treated justly, and being able to live and work to their values.
Unfortunately, because the causes of burnout are mainly environmental, that leaves us with very limited options for improving burnout ourselves… We can focus on alleviating our symptoms through targeted self-care (boundaries, rest, nutrition, exercise etc.), social connection, medical support, and mental health support. However, if the organizational issues that led to burnout do not change, it is possible that burnout will be an ongoing battle. Ultimately, a break or long-term change in work environment may be necessary.
This infographic is based on the areas of mismatch defined by Maslach and Leiter’s (2016) work on burnout and recovery.