Mindful Leadership For Dummies

Chapter 20

Ten Mindful Ways to Reduce the Risk of Burnout

IN THIS CHAPTER

Identifying the symptoms and causes of burnout

Making work more rewarding

Knowing when to seek support

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed and unable to meet constant demands. Burnout has both a human cost and a business cost and is better prevented in the first place than managed when it does occur.

As a leader, you need to spot the signs of burnout in yourself and others at an early stage and take steps to address both the symptoms and the causes. In this chapter, you find ten mindful ways to reduce the risk of burnout in yourself and those around you.

Identifying the Symptoms of Burnout

The best way to reduce the risk of burnout is to identify the symptoms and take action before things escalate to burnout stage.

In a report published in 2001 (‘Job Burnout’ by Christina Maslach, Wilmar Schaufeli and Michale Leiter), three key symptoms lead to burnout (see also Figure 20-1):

• Exhaustion: Depletion of emotional resources to cope with the current work environment leading to a stressed-out, overwhelmed employee
• Cynicism: A distant attitude toward a job leading to a disgruntled employee
• Inefficacy: A reduced sense of personal accomplishment leading to a stressed-out employee with a cynical attitude who has given up trying

© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

FIGURE 20-1: When these symptoms combine, the result is ...