Why burnout isn’t a personal failure and what to do next.
Employee burnout is at an all time high. Workplace burnout has reached record levels, with over two thirds of employees reporting burnout in recent workplace research, according to Forbes. This trend has been occurring for years, except now workers are starting to realize it’s not them, it’s the system. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re burned out or have experienced burnout recently. You’re not alone…it’s time for some self-love.
The problem is that up until now, we’ve taken on burnout like a personal burden. A sign we can’t survive in the workforce or “the grind”. But guess what? That’s not true at all. But if burnout is happening to nearly everyone, then it isn’t an individual problem. It’s the system.
How do we know burnout is systemic?
A workplace research study from WorkHuman indicates that 90% of workplace well-being comes from the workplace systems, culture and leadership and only 10% comes from the employee actions themselves. So what does this mean? It means burnout isn’t our fault. It means that burnout isn’t the result of us doing our jobs poorly, it means our environments are setting us up for failure. It means that despite how hard we try, we will not fix our company’s culture alone. It means we’d be fighting an uphill battle if we tried to do that, and only worsen our health in the process. And it means that a vast majority of workers are struggling.
And today, workplace stress and burnout is hitting us from all angles. Not only are workplace conditions such as culture, leadership and workload expectations exacerbating employee burnout, but larger economic conditions continue to add stress with constant mass layoffs, AI disruption, return to office mandates, elder caregiving on the rise and concerns around the future of work and mass social unrest. Lyra’s latest workforce trends report indicates a 10x YOY increase in elder caregiving and family stress shapes benefits leaders’ priorities as the age of parents 65+ continues to increase. All of these systemic factors have a large impact on our increased stress, anxiety and depression levels.
Traditional career and workplace advice doesn’t work anymore, because we’re not dealing with the same markets or systems anymore. We must adapt. Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, has been quoted as saying “The 9-5 will be extinct by 2034.” We will continue to see market disruption due to all of these factors.
But there is good news. We will see innovation for people that are solving new challenges and human problems. Instead of trying to fit yourself into a box or one page of a resume that sounds like everyone else’s, what actually works today is designing your place in the market based on your entire life, what you care about and what works for you.
Here are five things you can do now to beat systemic burnout:
Challenge traditional norms and constructs
As the systems we’re used to relying on no longer work for us, we’re allowed to question them and if they serve us and our loved ones.
Norms & constructs to challenge ->
The 9-5 is the safest or only career option. In fact, there are multiple ways to design your own career today and there’s never been a better time to take control of your own destiny. Watch our free exit planning Masterclass to learn more about how you can get started today.
Healthcare will keep us healthy. In fact, our healthcare system is more broken than ever in the United States. It’s up to us as individuals to advocate for ourselves and take care of ourselves from the foundational perspective of nourishing food, sleep and movement.
The government is always right. Now more than ever, we need to use our voices against the injustices we see or we will be imprisoned by them.
Burnout is a sign of dedication. We must not believe that in order to be worthy of our jobs, our health needs to suffer. This is not a sign of anything other than deteriorating health and an unsustainable situation you’ll have to deal with later.
The key takeaway? Question everything and advocate for yourself and others.
Address your environments
Our environments have the largest affect on our well-being outside of our individual actions and sometimes more. So, what can we do?
WORK: Your work environment has a significant impact on your well-being. Choose wisely.
NEWS: Watch your consumption of news, social media and rage bait. This is a tumultous time and to be informed is helpful but too much is not helpful.
COMMUNITY: Choose spaces and places that restore, regenerate and give back to you and your community.
Choose your Change
You can’t save everyone, or fix everything.
Decide what matters to you most.
Understand where you are best equipped to pitch in right now.
Know that some days your voice is all you can give and others, it may be nothing.
Just start with what you know you can do to be the change you wish to see.
Don’t worry about fixing everything.
Just start there.
Lead with Your Life
The best way to prosper during this time is to lead with your life, not with a resume.
Why is this?
Because it’s what AI can’t replicate.
So if you’re wondering what’s next for your life, or career....start with your life.
Your unique combination of background, experiences, skills...what you truly care about.
What makes you YOU.
What you do better than anyone else.
It’s what AI won’t and can’t ever replicate.
The world needs your humanity more than ever.
Take Care of Yourself & Others
You can’t pour from an empty cup.
In order to give back and make this a better place,
the world needs you better.
Not burned out.
So feel all the feels.
Get angry.
Use your voice.
But also take care of yourself and those around you.
Love yourself and those around you.
Because Bad Bunny is right.
The only thing more powerful than hate is love.
The Good News
The good news is that the best career and life advice for the future of work is to stop applying to jobs endlessly. Instead, take control and start designing your most sustainable, successful career. The one thing AI can’t replicate is you. The best way to win the future of work is to lead with what makes you the most human. You don’t need a 9-5 to be successful anymore. In fact, dedicating yourself solely to a 9-5 is the least guaranteed way to maximize your earnings in today’s economy.
If you’re ready to learn more, leave the 9-5 hamster wheel for good and prepare yourself for the future of work, watch our free masterclass and book your free clarity call. There’s never been a better time to take control of your own destiny and design the best career for you.