Burnout is total energy depletion resulting in complete mental and physical exhaustion. It is not a place anyone would want to be.
Most people make conscious decisions to deal with issues relating to stress before burnout is reached. For most of us this means taking time out from work and seeking some specialist advice (such as our GP).
But some people refuse to accept that they cannot cope. These are the people who are highly succeptible to burnout. We know from good research that burnout is more common amongst white collar middle and senior managers. These are people whose self belief in their competence in overcoming problems is very high. But this can often blind them to the adverse effect on their health of a significant build up of unrelieved pressure.
Maslach’s Multidimensional Model of Burnout
A prolonged response to chronic emotional and interpersonal stressors on the job. A psychological syndrome consisting of:
- Emotional exhaustion: Decreased energy; overextended emotionally; depleted of emotional resources
- Depersonalization: Negative, callous, or excessively detached response to others;
- Loss of idealism; starts as self-protective buffer of “detached concern” but leads to dehumanization
- Reduced personal accomplishment: Feelings of incompetence and productivity; feeling like a failure; work suffers
As the pressure increases our performance improves towards our ‘peak’ performance. But without an alleviation of pressure, or (importantly) without an increase in our ability to absorb pressure, our performance then begins to deteriorate until the burnout range is reached. Many people heading for the burnout range will take some sort of action to avoid a complete breakdown in their physical or mental functioning. Most people take time off work, visit their doctor or seek some sort of counselling advice. Contrary to many people’s assertion, taking time off work is a normal reaction to excessive pressure. It is a person’s way of protecting him or herself and it can be linked to the concept of ENERGY REPLENISHMENT.
Some practitioners who are experienced in this field such as the renowned sports coach Bill Beswick have developed the idea of ENERGY REPLENISHMENT as a key concept in the coaching and management of high performance sports teams. His work at Manchester United and with Middlesborough Football Club has shown that ENERGY is the team’s most important asset and the management of energy through the course of a season is the most important aspect of a manager’s role. Along with ability, attitude, and lifestyle management, energy replenishment is a key component in changing the profile of the pressure performance curve
|
