Looking for advice on how to bring your whole self to work? You’ll have no trouble finding ample ideas, recommendations, and advice. There are plenty of voices in the mix (mine is one of them).
But with all the fervor, sometimes it’s helpful to find solutions by looking at the opposite of what you’re seeking to solve. It’s a ‘counterpoint’ approach. What happens when we’re not feeling rewarded or fulfilled in our work – when the birds aren’t singing and the daisies aren’t blooming in our work-life?
I learned about burnout in my first job out of college. A senior friend and colleague – self-described as ‘crispy’ – was figuring out how to move forward. Here’s what we knew at the time (and what has been reinforced over the years): Burnout is more prevalent when people feel a loss of control, feel ineffective, treated unfairly, or feel disconnected from others. Burnout tends to start with exhaustion and quickly migrate to shame or doubt about the ability to get things done well. It develops to cynicism and finally a feeling of helplessness. It tends to happen when the stress meter has really topped out.