Marie-Claire AssekoMy instinctive answer identifying burnout culture is NO 🙅🏾♀️.
Since there’s no accurate way to measure or foresee the mental cost of everyday life events, there’s no clear way to identify “right away” a culture that would be mentally taxing.
Having experienced it myself, I think that burnout stems from the 💡compound effect of multiple factors related to people, processes and politics in the workplace💡over a long period of time. Regardless of what a company says its culture is, it’s the sum of these factors that creates its culture.
Rather than being able to point to a 🗝️trigger, we have to learn to not only identify these factors but also take note and monitor how they influence our enthusiasm for our work, our desire to contribute and our general mood (at work and outside of work).
For Starter: What is Burnout?
According to a paper published by the World Psychiatric Association in the National Journal of Medicine in 2016:
Burnout is a psychological syndrome emerging as a prolonged response to chronic interpersonal stressors on the job.
– The World Psychiatric Association
It manifests mainly 3️⃣ ways:
- Overwhelming exhaustion😖 – feelings of being drained, depleted, and lacking energy;
- Feelings of cynicism and detachment from the job🙄 – what is called “depersonalization“;
- A sense of ineffectiveness 😰 and an inability to cope with problems.
Then, What is “Burnout Culture”?
It is not an easy task to describe what burnout culture is because burnout is often seen, described and talked about as an individual problem. Something that can be solved through better boundaries, healthier work-life balance habits, etc. That’s a trap that many of us fall into. As my therapist told me: “you optimized yourself so much into a work robot that you ended up trapped into your productivity-inducing habits even in your personal life”. What a bummer right?
Nonetheless, let me attempt a description: burnout culture is the organizational culture created by the consistent inability or the continuous unwillingness of an organization to address and solve systemic issues related to people, processes and politics. It is characterized among other things by:
- Unequal 😠 promotion opportunities;
- Inflexible work schedules;
- Unmanageable workloads or expectations of performance 😣;
- Micromanagement🫥;
- Repeated organizational changes and lack of clarity about impacts;
- Lack of support for working parents, etc.
An organization with burnout culture is an environment where overwork is not just the norm but celebrated. Albeit not openly for decorum but, as an employee, you quickly get the message based on what it profusely praised. Sometimes, rest, recuperation, and boundaries around working hours can be called into question for the sake of productivity and profitability.
Burnout culture isn’t solely about the volume of work but the nature of it. Requiring incessant collaboration and connectivity from employees without the support structures necessary for sustainable work amplifies stress and leaves employees chronically feeling undervalued and overextended.
Impact on Employees and Organizations
“Burnout culture” has become increasingly relevant during and after the 2020 pandemic for various reasons.
On the one hand, this culture emerged under modern work demands, exacerbated by digital connectivity that blurs the lines between work and personal life. Employees find themselves in a relentless 🔁 of deadlines, meetings, and 📩, with little to no respite.
Professionally, burnout culture erodes productivity and stifles innovation. Indeed a workforce mired in burnout is less likely to engage in creative problem-solving or go the extra mile. Burnout culture then manifests itself through:
- Escalating rates of absenteeism;
- High healthcare costs;
- High rates of employee turnover🚷, and;
- Overall, a stagnation in growth for the business and a decline ⚠️ in its competitive edge.
The consequences of burnout culture are far-reaching, not only affecting individual well-being but also hindering organizational growth.
On the other hand, the impact of burnout culture on an individual’s well-being compounds with that of everyday life events. That stress can become chronic and as a result it can:
- Exacerbate mental health issues such as anxiety and depression;
- Strain relationships;
- A 85-year-long Harvard study concluded that the most important factor in keeping our lives happy and healthy is positive relationships
- Diminish overall life satisfaction.
Moreover, the incessant pressure to perform can erode self-esteem and exacerbate feelings of inadequacy; creating and reinforcing a vicious cycle of stress and disengagement.
TL;DR – Could You Identify “Burnout Culture”?
- Burnout stems from the compound effect of workplace factors like people, processes, and politics over time;
- Burnout culture is shaped by systemic issues such as unequal opportunities and inflexible work schedules;
- This culture harms employee well-being, erodes productivity, and stifles organizational growth.
I dived into the concept of burnout culture in the workplace; exploring its definition, impacts and some of the signs.
In the follow-up article, I will explore how we can spot these symptoms during the interview process and in our current job. More importantly, I will look into ways to overcome burnout culture – drawing from my own experience and that of others in my network.
