BURNOUT - Wake up callmadc.homestead.com/JobBurnoutpreventionpresentation.pdf · Learning...

BURNOUT - "Wake up call"

Help for the Caring Professional

Linda H. Scruggs, MHS

Learning Objectives

• At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant should

be able to:

• 1. Recognize the common physical, emotional, and behavioral

warning signs of job burnout

• 2. Identify both individual vulnerabilities and job-specific risks

that increase the likelihood of developing job burnout

• 3. Gain practical tips for stress-management and preventing

burnout

Stress at Work

• More than half of all American workers describe frequent stress at work

• In the US, workers have fewer vacation days per year than any other developed country

• Over 30% of workers stay „connected‟ to the office when they are on vacation

• Working parents report feeling “preoccupied” by work and regularly bring work projects home

Source: CareerBuilder.Com; CNN.com, “Five warning signs of job burnout”

• Work STRESS is often confused with

CHALLENGE

• Challenges motivate us to perform, while

chronic stress makes it difficult to carryout

routine work duties…

• Left unchecked, chronic stress can lead to

BURNOUT

Defining the problem

STRESS

• Stress can result from any situation where we feel that the demands we are facing exceed our resources

• Resources include Time, Money, Energy, Thought, Patience, Creativity, Compassion, etc…

• Because life is full of Demands, and all us of have a limited amount of Resources to meet these demands, STRESS becomes a „fact of life‟

Burnout

“Burnout is a state of physical, emotional and

mental exhaustion caused by long-term

exposure to demanding work situations.

Burnout is the cumulative result of stress.”

Source: Mayo Clinic, Mayoclinic.com

Chronic Stress & Burnout impacts

our health, mood states, and even

our thinking….

Common „signs and symptoms‟ of chronic

stress and burnout

Signs of Burnout: Health

• Your sleep is changing

• You feel exhausted

• You‟re always getting sick and/or you take more sick days

• You have frequent aches and pains

• You are using alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, food, or shopping to feel better about work

Emotional Signs of burnout

• You‟re frequently bored at work

• Work feels meaningless, there is no purpose in your work

• You are often irritable or lose your temper with coworkers, family, and friends

• You feel preoccupied by fears of losing your job

• You are more cynical about your work (the “so what” factor)

Cognitive Signs of Burnout

• You can‟t concentrate

• You have trouble making decisions

• Your mind goes blank

• You make more mistakes

• You work hard but seem to accomplish very little

• You „zone out‟ or stay on automatic pilot

Reviewing common environmental and

individual „traps‟ that lead to burnout

Looking around…The work

environments that create burnout

• Low control

• Lack of reward

• Unclear expectations

• Unrealistic expectations

• Too little or too much work

• Lack of feedback

• Critical boss

• Frequent Deadlines

• Too little pay

• Competing demands

• Office politics

• Bureaucracy

• Unhealthy coworkers

• Helping/caregiving profession

Looking within…. Individual variables that increase risk for burnout:

• Your expectations don‟t match reality

• You have rigid ideas about how things “should” be

• You‟re a perfectionist

• Can‟t say no

• You ruminate (replay) conversations with coworkers, managers

• You are experiencing a personal or family crisis

• You have „dysfunctional‟

relationships with

coworkers

• You are juggling several

roles

• You habitually take work

home with you

• You have trouble organizing/managing time

• Every workplace offers challenges, stressors, and opportunities

• We are all vulnerable and may experience several of these common symptoms at some point during our work lives

• The helping professions have some of the highest risk for job burnout

What can be done?

• Fact:

• Our ability to cope with stress has an impact on our health and happiness.

• Fact: We all have strategies to cope with stress that we use on a daily basis.

• Fact: Our Coping Strategies have the potential to either Help or Hinder (make worse) us in dealing with any given situation.

• Fact: It is never too late to learn new Coping Strategies to improve our health and happiness.

Strategies for preventing and

coping with stress and burnout

• The first step to managing stress at work is

increasing awareness of the individual and

environmental triggers that make us vulnerable

to the stress response

Emotional „habits‟ are hard to

break

• Habits/patterns of responding to stressful

situations become automatic, and may be

difficult to recognize at first

A Mindful Approach to Reducing

Stress

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a

particular way: on purpose, in the present

moment, and nonjudgementally. This kind of

attention nurtures greater awareness, clarity,

and acceptance of present-moment reality. It

wakes us up to the fact that our lives unfold only

in moments” (Wherever you go, There you are. page 4).

-Jon Kabat-Zinn

• Mindfulness is routed in eastern philosophy but has been applied to western medicine

• Mind-body medicine recognizes the link between what is going on in the „mind‟ (stress, negative emotions) and the body (disease states, healing)

• Mindfulness has been applied to stress

management and is a useful approach to

combating the impact of chronic stress on

psychological and physical health

Origins of Mindfulness

Mindfulness

• Focused awareness on the present

moment

• Paying attention to what is happening internally or externally while it is happening

• Can be practiced formally or applied in moment-by-moment experiences

What can mindfulness do for me?

• “Some of the worst things in my life never

actually happened.” (Mark Twain)

• “Life is what happens to you while you're

busy making other plans.” (John Lennon)

• How am I feeling right now?

• What is going on with me at this moment?

How am I right Now?

Stressed!

Thoughts of the

Past

What is happening In this moment?

Thoughts about the

Future

Some „mindful‟ approaches to

stress

• All that we have is the present moment

• Thoughts are not facts

• We are more than our thoughts

• Enhanced awareness adds more joy to life

Tips for enjoying “more moments”

1. Keep Breathing

2. Move more

3. Stay Connected

4. Plan your day

5. Do one thing at a

time

6. Just Say ‘no’

7. Reward yourself

8. Change your thinking

9. Turn down the

noise

10. Build your social support network

Wrapping Up…

• Questions and Discussion

Linda H. Scruggs (202)785-3564x150

lscruggs@aids-alliance.org

Need more information contact