Break the Burnout Cycle: 8 Steps to a Resilience Reset

We are seeing glaring indicators pointing to a downturn in employee well-being. There are signs of overwhelm on almost every team: declining team engagement and connection; diminishing productivity, spikes in sickness; and change fatigue.

We’ve worked with more than 500 leaders in large businesses in the past 3 years and this has given us clarity on what’s holding them back and how they feel about their work.? There is overwhelm bubbling beneath the surface - and it’s hurting individuals and the businesses they work for.

So, what’s really going on and what might it mean for your team?

We might see the pandemic as firmly in the past, but navigating it demanded a lot of employees.? 55% of employees took a significant?hit to their own health and their team relationships through Covid.? While they continued to be productive, it came at a cost.? There has been precious little recouperation post pandemic to accommodate a reset of energy levels.

We all see the impact on ways of working that Covid demanded, and employees are feeling the pinch, with remote and hybrid working collapsing the line between work and life.? According to payroll company ADP, in 2022 employees were working the equivalent of more than a day of unpaid overtime each week - less than we saw in 2021 but still more than pre-pandemic.? We know from Gartner research that these extra hours don’t increase performance.? And they create exhaustion and resentment.

What’s behind the pressure to work longer hours?

Maybe you’re shaking your head at the idea of expecting people to work longer hours for free. Surely none of us want to undermine the health of others, but that’s the harsh reality for many teams and individuals.

This past year has been particularly tough.? We’ve all seen the reality of economic volatility impact inflation, and according to PwC’s annual global workforce survey, the proportion of workers struggling to pay their bills has increased to 17% from 12% last year. Those who say they have some money left over at the end of the month declined to 47% this year, from 38% in 2022.? Even those who aren’t experiencing financial stress are seeing this impact on those around them.? This creates a sense of scarcity and fear, fuelling the ‘I must work harder’ bug.

The astonishing level of change is also stressing us.

Whilst many teams are still grappling with the remote-hybrid-office challenge, more change is never far away.? In 2022, the average employee navigated 10 change initiatives, up from 2 in 2016.? Whilst these programmes might be seen as positive for their long-term benefits, in the short term, they create uncertainty, stress and additional work for those they touch.

Amidst this whirlwind of change, the resilience of your team is critical to success.? If your people are stuck in overwhelm, their ability to embrace ‘more and different’ will be close to zero.

How resilient is your team right now? You might be observing the classic early warning signs of a burned-out team, where people are:

• Working hard without seeing real results
• Struggling to distinguish the important from the urgent
• Saying yes when they should be proactively pushing back
• Becoming uncharacteristically negative or irritable.

If so, you're not alone. Overwhelm has emerged as one of the most prevalent challenges in big companies we’ve worked with over the past three years, and there are signs it’s getting worse, not better.? We've harnessed invaluable insights through our programmes involving more than 500 middle and senior leaders within large businesses. We've distilled wisdom from 3,000+ hours of confidential conversations, to shed light on the factors that hinder individuals and teams and give rise to inertia.

We’re pleased to share these insights and offer advice to help you address this behaviour if you want to tackle it before it gets any worse and tips into burnout.

Spotting signs of Overwhelm

Spotting signs of overwhelm at work is vital in managing stress effectively.

Keep an eye out for physical cues such as frequent headaches or reduced focus, resulting in simple errors. Emotional indicators may include withdrawing socially, heightened irritability, or mood swings.

This seems obvious, but identifying these triggers can be challenging in distributed teams or when individuals conceal these issues. Many of us struggle to acknowledge these challenges, often pushing back on the notion of overwhelm, making it even more elusive to recognise and address.

But there are behavioural signs of overwhelm to help you spot it on your team – do any of these resonate?

• Lack of prioritisation and constant switching between tasks.? Difficulty discriminating between what’s important and what’s urgent creates unnecessary and unproductive ‘fires’.? Inability to say no, especially to seniors.
• Reactive and passive accountability of how time and energy is spent at work.? Calendars are full of ‘committee style’ meetings people feel they can’t decline – so they passively attend whilst multi- tasking their own ‘to do’ list.
• Excessive hours worked, with activity happening well outside of ‘normal’ hours, lack of proper breaks and ‘back to back’ meetings seen as an endurance sport. Resilience is low, energy is flagging, and excessive hours and personal sacrifice are worn like a badge of honour.

Understanding Overwhelm on the Journey to Burnout

Burnt-out team members are less productive, less engaged, and more likely to leave their jobs. This leads to increased turnover rates and higher recruitment costs. But behind this harsh truth lies the reality of real people and the profound impact of burnout on their health, relationships, and future.

Consider overwhelm as a precursor to burnout—an early warning that demands attention.

Much like an untreated infection, if left unattended, it worsens and becomes harder to manage. Ignoring signs of overwhelm with a 'deal with it later' or 'wait for it to improve' approach is risky. If you notice these behaviours within your team, prompt action is key.

We’ve already talked about the reasons WHY overwhelm is a trap so many individuals are falling into now, and it seems like we’re in the eye of a perfect storm of economic volatility, scarcity of time and resources and uncertainty from relentless change.? What might not be so obvious is the compounding impact of this on the wellbeing of a team.

Behaviour is contagious and over time, repeated behaviour becomes a part of our accepted culture.? Overwhelm often stems from beliefs and behaviours that are hard to talk about, not least because it’s not easy to own a sense of overwhelm, or even to spot it when we’re in the middle of it.? Without intervention, the way we act when we’re overwhelmed becomes part of the make up or culture of the team. Unchallenged, this behaviour becomes embedded in the way the team works and acts.

This makes acting on the first signs of overwhelm so important, so we can see and own what’s happening and find the support and courage to act differently to change outcomes for the better, for individuals, teams and ultimately the business itself.

Just hoping for things to get better is futile.

True change only happens when we confront challenges directly and effectively.

So how can we tackle Overwhelm and avoid it becoming full blown burnout?

Strategies to Break Free from Overwhelm and Build Resilience

Challenge priorities to create clarity. Start by debating priorities based on urgency and importance. Use tools to provide transparency on priorities and reinforce alignment.? Regularly review goals and priorities, making adjustments as needed. Flexibility is essential in adapting to changing circumstances.

Learn to Say No. We must understand our limits and commit to realistic goals based on a small number of clear priorities. That’s only possible with the skills to say no well. Make sure everyone is equipped with the skills to communicate what they are working on, and how long things take, in order to manage other’s expectations. Everyone needs to get practised in politely declining tasks when necessary.? Support people in having positive if challenging conversations over priorities. Talk about the need to say a positive no to seniors in some situations.??? Make sure all those who make requests of your team truly understand the consequences of lighting new fires.

Learn to Delegate. A common feature in stressed out teams is weak delegation at every level. In the short term, it can take more time to delegate than to just do something ourselves, so we fall into the vicious cycle of under-delegating.? Think creatively about all tasks that could possibly be picked up by someone else, and how it might elevate or stretch them to get involved. Investing time in thoughtful delegation creates a calmer future.

Set Boundaries. Establish clear boundaries between work and personal life. Define specific work hours and avoid overcommitting to tasks outside those hours.? This one requires careful attention and role modelling as well as robust debate about what happens in a genuine emergency situation.

Practice self-care. This is so easy to deprioritise in the face of a demanding day.? We must schedule regular breaks throughout the day to recharge. Short breaks boost productivity and alleviate stress.

Collaborate and seek support. We can’t undo deeply engrained behaviours without help.? Seek guidance from colleagues, mentors, or supervisors. Discuss workload concerns and explore potential solutions together.

Celebrate progress. Recognise and celebrate both success and failure along the way. Small victories build momentum and confidence and permission to fail reduces fear and resistance.? Regularly ask, what has worked well and not?? What are we celebrating in terms of progress – goals and misses?

Identify and empower change agents.? Behaviour is contagious, influential team members can lead the way to rapid change.? With the right support, a team of individuals can become Vanguards for change, trailblazing new behaviours and supporting those around them to reshape culture.

Burnout is a common challenge and carries a huge price for individuals and businesses.

But it is not inevitable.

Our innovative Culture Sprints move teams from Overwhelm to Resilient in 12 short weeks.? We achieve a real shift in behaviour, in a way your people will embrace and enjoy, supporting them to break free from old habits and limiting beliefs and step into their full potential.

Our approach is practical and delivers impact.? We focus on supporting the Sprinters to move their behaviours so they are actively driving change on a daily basis.? This visual summarises the shift in beliefs and behaviour the Resilience Culture Sprint is designed to create:

Our next 12-week Culture Sprint addressing the challenge of Overwhelm starts on 14th May 2024.

Culture Sprints redefine the traditional approach to culture change. We focus on specific challenges and deliver tangible shifts in behaviour. Say goodbye to long, ambiguous processes that drain internal resources and instead enjoy:

• Rapid Transformation: Achieve tangible results in just 12 weeks. We empower your team to create a real shift in behaviour together.
• Zero Distraction: We handle all logistics, freeing up your internal resources. Say goodbye to administrative burdens and distractions.
• Unleash Real Potential: Our approach targets common, unhelpful behaviours and is proven to deliver impactful results in a way your team will wholeheartedly embrace.

Real change shouldn't break the bank. Culture Sprints are budget-friendly, making it easier than ever to elevate your team's performance.

If you need your team to be recharged and energised, if you want them to break free from the crushing effect of Overwhelm and proactively build their Resilience, DM me, I’d love to explore if our next Culture Sprint is right for your team.

List of Sources of any stats and quotes

Mental health at work report (WTW)

https://www.wtwco.com/en-us/insights/2023/11/employers-address-mental-health-through-benefits-and-mental-health-friendly-culture

Employees are Losing Patience with Change Initiatives – Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2023/05/employees-are-losing-patience-with-change-initiatives

CIPD Good Work Index 2022 - https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/reports/good-work-index-survey-report-2022_tcm18-109896.pdf

People at Work 2022: A Global Workforce View – PaW: https://www.adpri.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/PaW_Global_2022_GLB_US-310322_MA.pdf

Gartner HR Research Reveals: More than half of employees have experienced significant damage to their workforce health since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-07-09-gartner-hr-research-reveals-more-than-half-of-employees-have-experienced-significant-damage-to-their-workforce-health-since-the-start-of-the-covid-19-pandemic

PWC: Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2022: https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/workforce/hopes-and-fears-2022.html