According to the World Health Organization, burnout is listed in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as an occupational phenomenon, but it is not classified as a medical condition. It is a syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
By Romanita Oprea
The burnout syndrome is characterised by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; reduced professional efficacy.
A UK survey, for instance, found that nearly 30 percent of human resource directors thought burnout was widespread in their organisation, while a recent report from Harvard declared physician burnout in the US to be a public health crisis, potentially costing the economy USD 4.6 billion a year.
“As one of the most recent phenomena in the global population, burnout pervades the lives of an estimated 5-7 percent of the general population: 210 million people worldwide and 11 million in the US. For those suffering from it, burnout is a slow, terrifying slide into darkness, with pervasive consequences like unemployment, insomnia, diabetes, heart disease, and even death.
Burnout has been studied and diagnosed in a variety of occupations such as medical staff, teachers, social workers, and people working in the financial sector,” said Olga Udrea, Psychotherapist | Coach | Neuroscience Enthusiast Mind Initiative.
“More alarming is that even if the employees of corporations work over 30 percent more than the European average, a Eurostat report shows that productivity in Romania is six times lower than the EU average. And we have a big problem here. It is a matter of productivity, education and personal beliefs: our parents taught us to work hard, not necessarily to be efficient, but to be seen and accepted. Spending long hours at work over a long period of time inevitably leads to chronic stress. And when the first symptoms of burnout start to set in, the yield drops even more,” said Alecsandra Ionita, wellbeing specialist at Smart Experience.
The predisposition to
Last year, the Bucharest College of Physicians conducted a study revealing that 55 percent of Bucharest doctors suffered from personal burnout, 52 percent from professional burnout, 36 percent from burnout related to patient interaction, and 24 percent suffered from all three types. “Lately we have particularly studied the behaviour of Millennials at work, because most of the companies we work with mainly have employees belonging to this generation. Using international studies and our local surveys, we discovered that nearly three in ten Millennials are very often or always burned out at work and about 70 percent of them experience at least some burnout. Compared to 5 years ago, burnout syndrome has advanced significantly, with more and more companies looking to implement programs in order to target and combat this problem among their employees,” explained Madalina Uceanu, senior consultant & founder at Career Advisor.
What generates it? According to Madalina Uceanu, some of the causes are related to our emerging economy context: someone who is now in their mid-40s started working before the year 2000 when working during the weekends or overtime was the norm and not the exception, if you wanted to keep your well-paying job in a multinational. “Moreover, I think that we were lacking the proper education in how to manage our emotional relationship with our job. Romanians tended to be perceived even by expats as more emotional about their jobs, bosses and work environment, while also taking a lot of personal confirmation and satisfaction from work results. That worked rather well for the organisations, as having employees who were so fully dedicated to the business was working miracles,” explained Uceanu. Moreover, according to Raluca Mihaila, Founder of Utopic Brain, we don’t have the exercise of failure and that is the starting point of burnout: you think you have it, you are taught to never give up, people still don’t appreciate you enough, so you keep on doing until you break. “This vicious cycle can make us blind to the alternative: collaboration, open talks, trusting one another, value-based teams, honest work and trustworthy environments. And these would be the premises for what we all search for: the virtuous cycle. None of the upper elements of our beings help us express ourselves, fail and learn from it, collaborate with others, understand trial and error and what it is like to be imperfect,” said Utopic Brain’s representative.
Therefore, we learn by doing, and usually by falling very far behind the false expectations we pulled together over decades. Working too much and not really caring about our mental and physical health, ignoring the sounds of our soul and passions and maintaining the phrase “work-life balance” when work should be 100 percent about living, not separated from it, will not help us move forward as individuals and will not help them, as international companies, understand that they wrong us just because they can and because we don’t know how to say no.
Unfortunately, the burnout syndrome is quite often seen in the advertising industry. “Whether people are working physically too much or they cannot handle stress, the effect is quite visible and spread out. I am very fortunate to like what I do so from this perspective things are looking pretty well. Over the years, I have been exposed to numerous trainings which emphasised the importance of the “work-life balance” concept and I took them seriously. Also, getting older and having a family were crucial factors in focusing on what mattered most. Having periods of relaxation after high stress periods, especially if you are in a management position, is a duty not only for yourself and for your family but also for the people in your team. Only with a crystal-clear mind does a leader have the power to be effective and emphatic and make the best decisions in business and life,” said Dana Bulat, general manager & owner United Media Services. As a specialist who has been working for more than 20 years in the marcomm industry, one of the most dynamic and demanding fields, Bulat knows and understands the high importance of trying to maintain a lifestyle that is as balanced as possible, and she is very interested in the well-being of her team.
Moreover, as Raluca Mihaila points out, trying to be different in an industry where clients want to be different, yet don’t dare to, is a nightmare for any agency trying to do their job. Stress, frustration, tensions come along. “The marcomm industry also has another trait: you need to prove yourself endlessly. You’re never good enough and you’re always as good as your last best project. Being in the paradigm of always trying to overcome challenges and outdo yourself sets the stage for work overdoses.”
In this context, one might wonder, how can well-being experiences help people in corporations avoid the syndrome? According to Alecsandra Ionita, there are dedicated programmes for combating burnout syndrome, through which employees become familiar with the term, find out about the causes and especially about ways to avoid falling into this trap. Furthermore, the classic well-being programs help the employee discover new passions and hobbies, and bring more balance to their life.
In looking for a more balanced life, people should also look towards taking better care of their bodies, as well as their minds. Playing sports, going to the gym, taking up dance classes, reading more and going to spas are some of the best solutions for taking care of oneself. “Even though they sometimes find it hard to take time for themselves and benefit from a little bit of time off and pampering in a spa or any other well-being area, the feeling of guilt disappears once the client starts enjoying that service. The secret lies in prioritising yourself and realising you deserve to give yourself more attention and time, because you are worth it. The burnout syndrome is more visible among people working in a corporate environment where deadlines are very tight and targets are high and hard to reach,” said Angela Coman, co-founder Belle Maison Spa.
Steps to be made
Taking those aspects into account, the first piece of advice she would give is for each of us to try to reach a mindfulness state. “It makes us more aware of the context we are in and offers us different perspectives on things. It gives us energy instead of using it up. In this manner, we start doing things in the right order and become more efficient. One must realise that not all the things we deal with at work have the same importance and, in some cases, some are not even necessary,” added Angela Coman. How is burnout treated? First of all, the reason behind it has to be identified, as well as finding out the roles an individual has in their life, how much time they spend in those roles and what changes can be made in the matter. “The need for professional and personal life. There are many people that drown themselves in their professional lives, therefore running away from the personal ones. Unfortunately, there can be deep traumas hiding behind a so-called successful professional path. I have to remind you of the difficulties of creating emotional connections with others, of getting involved at a social level in inter-human relationships. They are all based on countless fears,” said psychologist Andreea Neagu. Therefore, she suggests that one should get involved in pleasant activities that bring positive emotions and grow the frequency of those actions. Knowing oneself, an action that leads to identifying some personal purposes, a sense of life for each person, setting priorities, focusing on resources and activities that bring accomplishments are key to fighting burnout.
“Another important aspect is paying attention to your health. Quality sleep, good food, proper hydrating, physical relaxing exercises (meditation, yoga, dance, jogging), bring multiple benefits and balance the general state of being. Moreover, someone who believes they are close to a burnout should seek the help of a good psychologist, a specialist that will help them find the source of the problem,” added Andreea Neagu.
Not dealing with the situation properly and not treating the cause and the syndrome can lead to difficult situations and negative socio-economic consequences, physiological manifestations (the worsening of an illness or even developing one).
Thus, burnout can be “contagious” and perpetuate itself through social interactions on the job. “Burnout progress slowly, your health, relationships, and well-being start to collapse, but you may not know why, and miss it entirely. Eventually, your body simply shuts down to prevent you from working. Burnout is not laziness, burnout is not mediocrity, it is not the price we must pay for glory and success, is not recovering after one good night’s sleep or a holiday. It’s nothing to be ashamed of if you find yourself in this condition. Burnout is serious,” explained Udrea.
3 types of causes:
- Causes related to the professional environment: high workload and responsibility, time pressure and extended work schedule, events with negative emotional impact, lack of appreciation, hostile work environment, unsatisfactory relationships with colleagues, lack of respect in working relationships or within the team, low levels of financial satisfaction;
- Causes related to personality: perfectionism and excessive need for control, waiting for immediate rewards, enthusiasm and exaggerated expectations at the beginning of the career, low emotional stability, poor adaptability and stress resistance, self-confidence, frustrations related to the discrepancy between reality and job expectations;
- Causes related to lifestyle: insufficient leisure time, insufficient involvement in relaxing activities and social activities, lack of social and family support, failure to observe the need for sleep.
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