We all know there is an emotional, mental, and physical cost of burnout. From diminished health to damaged relationships, even the impact on children in homes with a burned-out parent. There is a social and personal cost to burnout that can only be measured as priceless.  

However, we can also acknowledge that there is a very real financial cost to burnout. The World Health Organization estimates annual drop in productivity due to burnout costs the global workforce approximately $1 trillion. Further, the American Psychological Association calculates approximately 550 million workdays annually are missed due to stress. That’s over three days per employee.  

Of course, this will vary by person and company, but here are some interesting estimates to ponder. 

$3,100+  =  Individual Estimate, assuming ~6 month recovery:

$0.00....... = Therapist: 16 free sessions through company EAP

$600........ = Neurologist for migraine management: 1x

...

Have you been the “lucky” survivor of a layoff? Maybe gifted a role in an emerging department? Perhaps you were over-promoted, which happens more frequently than we like to believe. These white elephants often lead to immense workload. Even if you haven’t been ‘honored’ with opportunity to take on more work, we all live with the exponential performance expectations of capitalism.  

Chicken soup for the overworked soul includes sharing opportunities for growth, task and attention management, and reducing overall responsibility. Evaluate your responsibilities, consider which you can shed, and make a plan to do so.

SHARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

Sharing or delegating work can be counterintuitive to achievement-oriented professionals. Most of us were raised with achievement conditioning, so it’s very likely that you struggle handing over assigned tasks when you know you can do it better. Or perhaps you convince yourself that training someone...

Burnout is characterized by three key components:

• Exhaustion
• Cynicism regarding work
• Loss of professional efficacy (a sense that you can perform your job well)

... but we all know there are many other manifestations of burnout. Irritability, brain fog, poor sleep, and anxiety (inability to sit still / anxiousness) are all very common signs of chronic stress and burnout.

If you are feeling any of these signs, or recognize your own unique manifestation of stress, try these steps to halt the feeling of burnout.

      1.     Stop the stress response of your nervous system.

• Take a moment to yourself to focus on your preferred method of decompression.
• Think of activities that use the spike in cortisol to fight or run: exercise, tension practice, kickboxing, etc.
• Also consider activities that indicate to your body that you are safe and secure: meditation, yoga, compression blanket, even a long hug with a loved one.

      2.   ...