Understanding & Preventing

Work-Related Burnout
Kathleen Johnston, MA
www.kathleenjohnston.com
kj@kathleenjohnston.com
P. (780) 752-4015

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Seminar Objectives
1. To understand burnout.
2. To understand stress, stress overload
and the relationship to burnout.
3. To recognize the symptoms and stages
of burnout.

4. To learn prevention and intervention

strategies for burnout.

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Audience Poll

Pair Discussion

“Why are you interested

in the topic
work-related burnout?”

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Stress Overload vs Burnout

Stress Overload Burnout

● Over-engagement
● Over-reactive emotions
● Urgency and hyperactivity
● Loss of energy
● Primary damage: physical
● Premature aging
● Disengagement
● Blunted emotions
● Helplessness/hopelessness
● Loss of motivation/ideals/hope
● Primary damage: emotional
● Makes life not seem worth living

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 What Is Stress?
 inborn biological mechanism existing in all
living creatures

 purpose is to protect the organism to ensure its’

survival and to ensure the survival of its’ species

 this stress mechanism, (survival instinct) operates

through the concept “fight, flight or freeze”
(Source: Stress vs Distress by Hans Selye)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

STRESS
is
ENERGY

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Stress Hormones
When the stress response [“known as fight or flight”]
is triggered in our brain, our bodies are injected with
important hormones:

 Adrenaline (upper)

 Cortisol (downer)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Physiological Response
Decreased:
• digestion
Increased: • immune system
• muscle tension • mental creativity
• blood pressure • emotional stability
• breathing rate • sex hormones
• heart rate
• mental alertness
• emotional anxiety
• blood sugars and fats
• metabolism

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Single Stress Event

Immediate response
Response
Intensity
Quick return to relaxation

Stressor
1 2 3 4 5 6
Passage of Time

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Multiple Stress Events

Stress Build Up

Response
Intensity

Stressors 1 2 3 4 5 6
Weeks/Years

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Stress Overload

Response Eventual
Intensity
Health
collapse

Repeated stressors over weeks, months, years with little to no satisfaction in

return for the stress energy invested, and with no regular return to a fully
relaxed state, leads to stress overload and eventually to health collapse.

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Stress Overload Leads to Illness

Stages of Stress Overload

1. Fatigue
2. Relationship problems
3. Negative Emotions
4. Aches/Pains
5. Illness
(Source: Canadian Institute of Stress)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Chronic Stress-Related Disorders &
Diseases
 Heart Disease  Depression
 Hypertension  Anxiety
 Lowered Immunity  Asthma
 Gastrointestinal  Reproductive issues
 Reduced sex drive  Migraines
 Substance abuse  Musculoskeletol
 Sleep disorders  Type II Diabetes

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Risk Factors For Stress Overload

1. Negative perception/outlook (pessimist)

2. Family pressure
3. Having a “helper” mentality
4. Work problems
5. Negative coping patterns
6. Undeveloped stress management skills
7. Broken inner “compass”
8. Personal tragedy
9. Limited support system
( Source: Canadian Institute of Stress)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Work-Related Stress
(Source: Statistics Canada 2010 General Social Survey)

 One quarter of working adults describe their daily life as highly stressful
 60% of highly stressed workers identify work as their main source of stress
 Workers stressed mainly about work are well-educated and have white-
collar jobs
 Workers stressed about not having enough time have children at home
 Most workers stressed about family matters are women
 Employers lose productivity to stress through absenteeism, reduced output
and increased disability claims
 Mental health problems cost employers $20 billion annually and account
for 75% of short-term disability claims in Canada

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Source of Stress Among Workers
 Poor fit between the individual and the job
 Little control over work conditions and terms
 Insufficient support from supervisors and colleagues
 Financial concerns
 Not enough time
 Family matters
 Personal issues, i.e. relationships, health, worry
(Source: Statistics Canada, What’s Stressing the Stressed? 2010)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

My Personal Distress Signals

Physical Emotional

Mental Spiritual

Relationships Vocation /
Work

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

My Favorite Coping Techniques
What’s your response to feeling OVERWHELMED by stress?
 Eating?
 Shopping?
 Drinking?
 Television vegging?
 Booking a massage?
 Phoning a friend?
 Walking in green space?

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Definition of Burnout

“Burnout is a painful affliction of good people who

are trying to give their very best.”

“Burnout is the extinction of motivation or incentive,

especially where one’s devotion to a cause or
relationship fails to produce”

(Source: Herbert Freudenberger from his 1980 book Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement quoted in
Joan Borysenko’s book Fried: Why You Burnout and How to Revive, 2011 )

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Definition of Burnout

Burnout is a syndrome consisting of:

•emotional exhaustion,
•depersonalization, and
•reduced personal accomplishment

(Source: Maslach Burnout Inventory, 1996)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Understanding Burnout
(Source: Joan Borysenko , PhD. 2011. Fried: Why You Burnout & How to Revive)

 Burnout is poorly understood

 Physicians misdiagnosis it and hand out antidepressants
 Underlying traits predispose people to burnout
 Burnout is inevitable if stress overload is unmanaged
 Burnout includes a component of depression
 Burnout affects thinking, behavior, emotional experiences,
relationships and work
 Recovery involves changing one’s orientation to life and to
work
Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.
 Burnout Risk Factors
 Personality
 Personal values system
 Expectations (self and others)
 Individual’s relationship with work (identity, passion)
 Attitude
 Habits
 Situational context
 Stress overload

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Yerkes-Dodson Law
Stress Performance Connection

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Structural Model of Burnout
Increased Demands:
Work Overload Personal Conflict

Diminished: Burnout Syndrome:

 Coping  Exhaustion
 Social Support  Depersonalization
 Autonomy  Diminished Personal Accomplishment
 Decision interest

Costs:
Diminished Turnover and Physical
organizational absenteeism Illness
commitment
Source: Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual by Christina Maslach, Susan E. Jackson & Michael P. Leiter)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 …..Burnout…..

 Patterns
 Insightful self-understanding
 Ongoing honest self-monitoring

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 12 Stages of Burnout

 Stage 1 - Driven by an Ideal

[Insight: Be clear about what motivates your work]

 Stage 2 – Working like a Maniac

[Insight: Be clear about when your best work occurs]

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 12 stages of Burnout

 Stage 3 – Putting Your Own Needs last

[Insight: Assess your joy-in-life score]

 Stage 4 – Miserable and Clueless as to Why

[Insight: Take a sabbatical to evaluate your life]

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 12 Stages of Burnout

 Stage 5 – The Death of Values

[Insight: Recall how you lived in earlier years]

 Stage 6 – Frustrated, Aggressive and Cynical

[Insight: Identify your energy drains and do something
about them]

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 12 Stages of Burnout

 Stage 7 – Emotionally Exhausted and Disengaged

[Insight: Who are you truthful with?]

 Stage 8 – I’ve Morphed into What?

[Insight: What, Who and Why?]

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 12 Stages of Burnout

 Stage 9 – Get Away From Me!

[Insight: How are you compassionate with yourself?]

 Stage 10 – Inner Emptiness

[Insight: Find something that feels better]

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 12 Stages of Burnout

 Stage 11 – Who Cares and Why Bother?

[Insight: Do you need professional help?]

 Stage 12 – Physical and Mental Collapse

[Insight: What means the most to you and how can
you bring more of it into your life?]

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Prevention Strategies For
Stress Overload & Burnout
 Manage Perfectionism/Idealism/Drivenness
 Work From Your Strengths
 Maintain Strong Boundaries
 Monitor Your Energy Investment
 Use a Stress Management Model
 Ask for Help
 Practice X-treme Self-Care
Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.
 Control Your Ideal

!!! STOP PERFECTIONISM !!!

Consistently look for opportunities to

downgrade, delegate, or drop
things to control workload

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Be Authentic:
Work From Strength & Essence
 Your strengths are a combination of your natural
talents, plus your knowledge, skills, and practiced
experience.

 Know your values: who you are at your inner core

 Know your life purpose and your priorities

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Develop Strong Boundaries
Weak/Permeable Strong/Healthy

Boundaries are the invisible barriers that separate you—physically,

emotionally, and spiritually—from the world around you.
Boundaries define who you are and keep you secure.

What “boundary work” might you need to do?

(Source: Boundaries: Where you end and I begin by Anne Katherine, MA, 1991)

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Monitor Your Energy Investment

Ask yourself:

 What / who are the Energy Drainers in my life?

 What / who are the Energy Restorers in my life?

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Stress Management Model

Alter: How might I change something to remove the

source of the stress?

Avoid How might I get away from the stress?

Accept How might I live with the stress by:

 building up resistance, and

 changing myself or my perception

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Ask For Help

I hesitate to ask for help because . . .

And the things I could use help with right now

include . . .

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Practice X-treme Self Care

How are the caretaking activities

I offer to others different
from those which I apply to myself?

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Work-related Burnout:
Preventable & Reversible
From This To This

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

 Satisfaction V. Stress

Good
Personal Days
Vitality Quotient Satisfaction
=
Your Return on Stress
Investment

Bad
Days

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Personal Action Plan

One action I will take

immediately to diminish
stress overload in my life and
reduce the chance of burnout.

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

WOMEN @ WORK WOMEN’S CAREERS

Ordinary Women—
Kathleen Johnston’s Extraordinary Lives:
Monthly Newsletter! 1. A Woman’s Career Legacy
2. A Woman’s Career Diary

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.

Kathleen Johnston, MA – Career Strategist
www.kathleenjohnston.com
kj@kathleenjohnston.com
P. (780) 752-4015

Copyright © 2009 Kathleen Johnston. All rights reserved.