December 27, 2009

Managing the throttle: Attitude, 'culture of candor' can help prevent burnout

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iSTOCK

In these times of low profits and high unemployment, what people used to call “burnout” has become for many the new normal.

Stressed out? Check. Anxious? You bet. Feeling overworked? Only during waking hours.

Dr. Srini Pillay, an executive business coach for 10 years and an expert on stress and anxiety reduction, believes that burnout is damaging not only to workers but also to the companies who pay them.

Burnout in the work force, he says, leads to lower productivity and higher absenteeism, tardiness and turnover, all of which Pillay says costs U.S. companies from $75 billion to $160 billion annually.

“Most people assume that feeling burned out means they’re weak or have a poor attitude,” says Pillay, a psychiatrist and CEO of NeuroBusiness Group in Massachusetts.

Burnout is not simply a matter of an overwhelming workload, though that’s often a component. Rather, Pillay says, it comes from “a mismatch between what people are and what they have to do,” a situation often caused by a communication breakdown in the workplace.

Steven South, general manager at national outplacement company Lee Hecht Harrison, agrees. “If you’ve got the wrong person in the wrong seat, that can lead to burnout. But if you’re aligned perfectly with a job you love, working a 12-hour day isn’t going to burn you out.”

South believes that technology, as much as the economy, is responsible for those feeling the singe of burnout. In today’s business world, he notes, information from a sales report can be collected, disseminated throughout a sales force, discussed by teleconference and acted upon -- all within 45 minutes. It’s a pace that can put tremendous stress on everyone.

The art of good management is “knowing how to manage the throttle,” he says.

“It is definitely more of an art than a science.”

Pillay is a proponent of “social intelligence,” a concept brought to the fore by psychologist Edward Thorndike in the 1920s that puts a premium on effective interpersonal interaction. Pillay’s company coaches managers on those skills.

One recommendation he has for workers who find their jobs intolerable is to remind themselves that the situation is temporary. Then they should start preparing for the eventual opportunity to move on.

“When we are under more strain is actually the time that we should be thinking about how we can make changes and not just hold our breath,” Pillay says.

South suggests that companies cultivate “a culture of candor, where employees can talk about their questions, concerns and stressors without fear.”

Workers, he adds, should “find ways to get better at what you do best and improve on your areas of weakness.”

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1 Comments

Andy Brucia on December 29, 2009 3:03 PM | Reply

"South suggests that companies cultivate “a culture of candor, where employees can talk about their questions, concerns and stressors without fear.”

I work as a Career Advisor and have for years, and I'm starting to believe that there are no people more out of touch with the real-world business realities than exectutives.

With the single exception of executive coaches.

So we should find ways to improve on our areas of weakness? Never would have thought of that one. Brilliant!

I like this one too.

"Burnout is not simply a matter of an overwhelming workload, though that’s often a component. Rather, Pillay says, it comes from “a mismatch between what people are and what they have to do,” a situation often caused by a communication breakdown in the workplace."

Let me describe the communication breakdown for you. You were hired on a team of 5, one manager, and now there is a team of 2, one manager, and your workload has basically tripled, your manager's hasn't changed, and the two of you left sipe at each other because you're both so stressed out.

The communication broke down when they didn't tell you that you would be doing 3 times the amount of work for the same pay (You didn't ask!).

THAT is where burnout comes from.

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