Identifying Burnout and the Importance of Prevention to Maintain Performance

The harsh reality is that burnout can be hard to spot because it usually creeps up on us gradually. It’s easy to get so absorbed in our work and ambitions that we fail to realise we might be approaching a state of mental, physical, and emotional exhaustion. When left unchecked, burnout can have serious negative impacts on our wellness, quality of life, and overall productivity. It doesn’t only permeate the world of work; burnout can also creep into hobbies, relationships, and other activities that are important to us. This is why it’s so important to be conscious of our mental and physical health, and to take steps to relieve stress and prevent burnout.

Leadership Development Implications

For leaders, it’s imperative to set the tone within an organisation about what is acceptable in terms of stress and workloads. Senior leaders should role model healthy behaviours such as taking breaks, switching off from work outside of work hours, and managing unrealistic expectations. Leaders should also create an environment where employees feel comfortable communicating openly about how they are feeling without fear of judgement or reprisal. In today’s fast-paced and highly technological work environment, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and experience burnout, so having an organisational culture that prioritises employee wellbeing is essential for fostering productivity and morale.

Developing high performance teams can also contribute greatly to the prevention of individuals experiencing burnout. Teams that are highly cohesive, support each other’s development, and encourage open dialogue between members can help to reduce stress through the sharing of responsibility and workload. It creates a network of support for teams to rely on which can help to keep motivation and morale high as well as increase employee engagement. High performance teams also provide an organisational culture of learning, which can help to develop leadership skills and resources that can be used to combat burnout.

“One important factor for developing self-care activities is that they are most effective when they put us in a mindset that opposes that which we are in when we’re at work.”

Finding Strategies for Prevention

The sooner burnout is identified, the easier it will be to manage. There are many techniques for preventing burnout such as taking regular breaks throughout the day, creating realistic goals and expectations for yourself, setting healthy boundaries between our work and personal lives, scheduling time for self-care activities such as exercise or other hobbies, staying connected with supportive people in your life, eating nutritious food, and seeking professional help where needed.

One important factor for developing self-care activities is that they are most effective when they put us in a mindset that opposes that which we are in when we’re at work. Some activity that allows us to redirect our focus and energy from the demands of the job. This can be different for everyone, but some examples might be going for walks in nature, cooking, or learning to play a musical instrument. When regularly prioritise rest, we show up at work more resilient and ready to face new challenges.

It is essential that individuals and organisations take steps to prevent burnout before it becomes a debilitating problem. By prioritising self awareness, creating healthy expectations for workloads, encouraging open dialogue between employees, and developing cohesive teams, organisations can create an environment where employees feel supported in their work and perform at their highest potential.

About the Author: The Leadership Sphere

The Leadership Sphere helps small and medium businesses and larger organisations in Australia, in creating value through leadership. The Leadership Sphere provides a humanistic approach to the way it delivers leadership, performance and coaching services. We work with leaders and senior teams who need to gain increased clarity, build capability and ensure contribution at every level in the organisation, and enable a safe, inclusive and  high trust organisation.