The Same Amount of Work Is Not the Same for Everyone<\/strong><\/p>\nNot everyone reacts or copes the same with an equal amount of work. That doesn\u2019t mean that the person who doesn\u2019t tolerate an equally high amount of work is of lesser value. The quality of their work or qualities such as their ability to think creative or make new business connections can be equally valuable.<\/p>\n
As an efficient, yet reflective, person who is capable of creative thinking and idea generation, I have found that my workload capacity is not as high as those who are not reflective. It takes time to think, so if you find yourself naturally pausing throughout the day to reflect, you\u2019re not going to get as much done as a person who rarely troubles to think about what just happened in their day or what\u2019s going to happen tomorrow.<\/p>\n
The compulsion to reflect can be seen as a liability, leading to over-thinking and neurosis and cutting into productivity. But it also can be seen as a strength, enabling the reflective person to notice potential problems and opportunities that their less thoughtful colleagues may miss.<\/p>\n
So when a reflective, sensitive person someone who is less sensitive and less thoughtful that they are overwhelmed, it\u2019s easy for that other person to minimize the reflective person\u2019s experience. Minimizing their feelings is the wrong approach to take, obviously, as it risks pushing the person deeper into burnout or alienating them, so that they just give up and start looking for a new job.<\/p>\n
Lower Level of Support Contributes to Burnout<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s rich when a person with a vast support network\u2014including spouse, children, parents, and a large group of friends nearby\u2014lectures a person who is comparatively alone in the world that \u201cwe\u2019re all working hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue,\u201d the less-supported colleague thinks to themselves. \u201cBut you have someone cooking your dinner when you get home, helping you run errands, helping you fix things that break down in your home, and many other people no more than a 10-minute drive away to lend a hand or emotional support.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two colleagues have an equal amount of work, but one has what amounts to multiple personal assistants while the other is mostly handling all of life\u2019s challenges\u2014inside and outside of work\u2014on their own.<\/p>\n
A Better Approach<\/h2>\n
Rather than defensively comparing the burned-out employee\u2019s workload to that of others in the department, managers could be trained to ask questions to look for potential solutions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry you\u2019re experiencing that,\u201d the well-trained manager would respond. \u201cTake me through a typical work week, day by day, and I\u2019ll see if we can find places where we can lighten the load or extend deadlines.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nA rethinking of department roles also can be a solution. A savvy manager should be able to recognize an employee who is more capable of deep thinking and analysis, but not as capable of managing a super-heavy workload. If the employee regularly demonstrates that they have good insights to share, they may be a prime candidate for a planning- or leadership-based position. They still will have deliverables (you never want to create a position with no deliverables), but, as part of the plan, they will have fewer deliverables than those in the department who are more capable of churning out a high volume of work.<\/p>\n
Productivity can be looked at in many ways. Counting the number of widgets produced is just one way. You never want to risk losing a valuable employee by overwhelming them with a workload that is unreasonable for them<\/em>.<\/p>\nAre your organization\u2019s managers trained to have conversations about burnout with their employees?<\/p>\n
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