Skip to content

Latest commit

 

History

History
36 lines (23 loc) · 3.22 KB

PreventingBurnoutInIT.md

File metadata and controls

36 lines (23 loc) · 3.22 KB
Raw

Preventing burnout in IT

Key takeaways:

Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged and excessive stress.

3 pillars of burnout:

  1. Emotional and physical exhaustion: This is the feeling of being drained. It often results from excessive demands, pressure and stress. Person can feel overwhelmed, fatigued, and unable to cope with the stressors.

  2. Depersonalisation (or Cynicism): This pillar involves developing a detached or callous response towards one's job and the people involved. Individuals may start to feel indifferent or negative towards their work and may become cynical, detached, or even hostile towards colleagues, clients, or patients. Please note that the burnout is about the change. If the person has always been cynical, probably it’s not burnout, it’s just being pain in the ***.

  3. Reduced personal accomplishment: This aspect refers to a decline in feelings of competence and successful achievement in one’s work. Individuals experiencing this form of burnout may feel ineffective, unproductive, and have a sense of failure regarding their job performance. It can reveal itself as impostor syndrome.

If all three pillars can be observed, it’s time for professional help(mentor, counselor, or/and therapist).

If you are somewhere in the middle, there are plenty ways to take action.

Good practices:

  • Educate yourself and others. Learn more about causes of burnout (both personal and organizational) Dr. Christina Maslach is a great source: https://youtu.be/gRPBkCW0R5E?si=WW91K8D-tqrrgou- P. M. Leiter “Six areas of worklife: a model of the organizational context of burnout” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10621016/
  • Introduce short breaks, evenings and weekends offline
  • Celebrate smaller and bigger successes - give kudos and positive feedback to yourself and others
  • Take care of health (sleep + diet + exercise)
  • Look for causes of stress - is it more internal or external. The same stressors may cause different level of stress. It depends on your state of health, peace of mind, pressure, but also our own beliefs and habits
  • Set boundaries - take care of work-life balance, learn to say no (and say “yes” to your needs), and disconnect after working hours
  • Manage workload, focus on priorities nad take your time. If you need help - ask for it. Delegate, allow people to help you.
  • Take care of supportive environment, look for social support and positive work culture
  • Engage in meaningful activities - engagement is one of components of wellbeing (see https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/) Find a hobby or new passion, learn something new, volunteer.

Be patient. If you have incurred debt for a long time, you will not pay it off overnight.

Burnout is not your fault, but you need to observe yourself to find your ways out of it. Remember that your body gives you many signs. If you learn hot to observe them and take action in time, you will build long term residence.

To help other who might go through burnout, you can offer help, provide educational resources, and encourage self-care. However, you need to be very gentle, because it's a sensitive topic for many people. Be patient and avoid judgement.