Practice Safe Stress

Vital Lesson of the Four “R”s and the Stages of Burnout

Soon after my traumatic, two-year dark night of the academic soul, a framework emerged for understanding and, hopefully, inoculating my self against future burnout – “The Stress Doc’s Vital Lesson of The Four ‘R’”s:

If no matter what you say or what you do, Results, Rewards, Recognition, and Relief are not forthcoming, and you can’t say –  and mean – “no” or won’t let go...trouble awaits. The groundwork is being laid for apathy, callousness, and despair.

Whew!  No wonder I call burnout the “Erosive Spiral.”  Whether at work or school (or even in a marriage), in order to prevent it, or recover from it, you must get it; so let’s examine some of the progressive signs of the burnout process.  Now this isn’t an easy exploration.  For example, while I was living in New Orleans, a participant approached me during a break in a workshop.  We had just covered the phases of burnout.  He pointedly asked:  “Have you been travelin’ in North Louisiana?”  I gave him a puzzled look and said, “No.”  He immediately replied:  “’Cause it sure seems like you’ve been lookin’ in my window.”  Will you, too, see yourself in the burnout mirror? 

The Four Stages of Burnout

Before delineating the four stages, let’s return to the aforementioned definition:

Burnout is the gradual process in which a person, in response to excessive or prolonged stress and physical, mental, and emotional strain, detaches from work and other meaningful roles and relationships.  The result is lowered productivity, cynicism, confusion...a feeling of being drained, having nothing more to give. 

The following outline will cover dynamics for both the individual grappling with a challenging work environment and for the person currently unemployed, especially if outplaced, displaced, and RIFed off.  (RIF = Reduction in Force.)

Stage I.  Physical, Mental, and Emotional Exhaustion

Maybe you are still holding it together at work (or school).  Still, can you relate to this sequence?  As soon as you get home, do you head for the fridge, get out the Haagen-Dazs or Ben and Jerry’s or lite-beer, turn on the tube, collapse on the sofa and become comatose for the rest of the evening?  In this economic age of reorganization and corporate consolidation, you’re often doing more with less.  With cutbacks in people and resources, it’s like working with one hand tied behind your back.  Especially for folks who pride themselves on doing a thorough, high-quality job, these restrictions are especially frustrating. Having plenty of responsibility but not enough authority or juggling an unmanageable schedule is taking a toll.  Now you are looking for shortcuts, if not cutting corners.  And this gnaws at your self-esteem.  Perhaps you’ve been calling in sick for questionable reasons.  Your resentment is building.  At the same time, you may even feel pangs of guilt, especially if you beat yourself up when falling short of perfectionist standards.  A case of “brain strain” is developing, accompanied by an energy shortage and feelings of exhaustion.  For those already downsized, outsized, or “rightsized” (isn’t that a term of endearment?) adding insult to injury is all too possible.  The familiar career-seeking refrain is that looking for a job is a full-time job.  But the contradiction cannot be eliminated:  the unemployed individual suddenly has all this free time.  Now let’s throw in a heavy measure of guilt because a breadwinner or bread-earner is not bringing home the bread.  If this exhausted and agitated individual compensates, that is, tries to be especially useful by overloading on domestic chores, a new round of burnout may be in the making.  Now is not the time to remodel your house! Whether you are working or downsized, if your stress levels continue unabated, you may be ripe for the second stage.

Stage II.  Shame and Doubt

Perhaps this scenario is familiar.  A supervisor (or professor) asks you to take on a new project or assignment.  You want to...but a voice inside silently screams, “Who are you kidding!”  So what’s happening?  You’re not feeling confident about the future, and you’re feeling pretty lousy in the present.  Not surprisingly, you may even start discounting your past accomplishments.  Beware...this is not a logical process; it’s a psychological one.  Now you wonder if colleagues, friends, or family members will detect that something is wrong.  Or worse, could you get fired?