BURNOUT: THE TWELVE STAGES AND WHAT YOU CAN DO WHEN YOU WORK FOR A CHARITY

Burnout is experienced across sectors but is particularly prevalent in the charity sector. The pandemic resulted in even greater concern, with studies showing that 90% of staff have felt overwhelmed or burnout and nearly 50% of charity leaders considered leaving mid-pandemic. And as the world moves on from the crisis, the charity sector has had to brace itself for even more challenge as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, cuts to funding, pressures on the NHS and reduced access to health and social care services. Alongside this, those working for charities run the risk of experiencing compassion fatigue and secondary trauma; is it any wonder the sector is struggling to retain and recruit staff? It’s a perfect storm for burnout to establish within. Yet despite this, burnout is often the elephant in the room, ignored until it is too late.?

What is burnout??

Burnout can be defined as a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion which has resulted from too much ongoing stress, leaving you feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet the demands placed upon you. Burnout has three important components?

1. emotional & physical exhaustion (the tiredness that results from carrying too much for too long and feeling that there is nothing left to give); ?
2. a loss of feeling accomplished (feeling that nothing you do makes any difference, and as a result feeling so less interested, enthusiastic and committed to work)??
3. depersonalisation (a complete lack of empathy, caring and compassion)?

It has been argued that burnout can be viewed as an issue of identity, meaning and purpose and so if work is integral to your sense of self, you’re more vulnerable to burnout. As we know for those working in charities, the work is often intrinsic to who we are – the desire to make a difference in the world is why we choose the sector, and so those working for charities may already be at greater risk of burnout. In addition to this, whilst burnout may be experienced by anyone where the workload and expectations are just too much, the risk for those working in charities is that they experience burnout alongside compassion fatigue (where there is just no more to give) or secondary trauma (the emotional distress resulting from hearing others’ stories of trauma), placing an even greater emotional toll on those working for charities.?

The twelve stages of burnout?

But burnout isn’t an all or nothing state. Twelve stages have been identified by Freudenberger & North, and if we consider them in turn, we can see how we can move gradually, and perhaps (initially) imperceptibly along the stages, ultimately finding ourselves at burnout (or on the verge of it), and not being quite sure how we got there.?

1. Compulsion to prove yourself – You want to prove your worth to the organisation and will willingly take on responsibility.?
2. Work harder – You don’t let yourself switch off, there is always something to do.?
3. Neglecting your needs – You miss meals, your sleep changes, you don’t take breaks, cancel plans?
4. Displacement of conflict – Problems are ignored, you may feel jittery or panic?
5. Revision of value system and your self-worth is based on job – Work becomes the focus, you don’t have time for hobbies, friends, family?
6. Denial of problems – believes others are lazy or not committed to work, problems are due to time pressures?
7. Withdrawal – your social life diminishes, and you manage stress in less healthy ways?
8. Obvious behaviour changes – your friends and family are concerned about you?
9. Loss of contact with self – you don’t see yourself as important, and you’re not prioritising your needs?
10. Inner emptiness – You feel empty and may resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms?
11. Depression – you feel lost, exhausted and hopeless?
12. Burnout syndrome – emotional and physical collapse?

The progression to burnout doesn’t have to be an inevitability, but it does require us as individuals, and charities to be aware of both the stages, and factors which can help burnout take place, as well as ensuring that actions can be taken swiftly to prevent any further progress through the stages.?

What can you do??

Preventing and addressing burnout takes consistency and isn’t a one size fits all response. What each of us needs will look different, but there are common themes which can help.?

1. Set boundaries – perhaps the most important thing to is ensure you have clear boundaries between work and the rest of your life. Easier said than done I hear you say, and I get it, sometimes there are emergencies or really short deadlines which ‘have’ to be delt with. This should be the exception though, not the norm. If you practice leaving work on time, the impact when you have to stay late to complete the tender document will have less of a negative impact on you.?
2. Regular breaks – both in your day, and from work are important. It’s easy to feel tied to your desk, to work through lunch, to not take the holiday because people need you. The thing is, you’ll be much more effective if you take your lunch break, if you get away from your desk, if you take your leave. ?
3. Self-care – self-care sometimes gets a bad rep, we can sometimes think of it as a bubble bath or a massage. Real self-care is finding the things which help comfort you, relieve stress in a healthy way, and which fill your cup. This will be different for all of us (for me it’s a walk by the sea, a workout, reading a book, and a daily mindfulness practice).?
4. Build your resilience, your ability to bounce back – resilience is a long-term investment plan (a bit like strength training is for women). Little daily, weekly practices all add up, and so when the sh*t does hit the fan we can go with the flow, and find it easier to recover.?
5. Asking for help – when you work for a charity, and when you’re a leader in a charity, asking for help can feel like failure. But if you always say yes, people won’t necessarily know there is a problem (none of us are mind readers after all). This is particularly important, as charities are asked to do more for less, expectations for outcomes increase year on year, but the resource remains the same. Without honest conversations about what is realistic burnout is almost inevitable.?

It’s important to remember that recovering from burnout isn’t a quick fix. If you find yourself in burnout, or using alcohol or substances to manage stress, you must seek appropriate medical support.?

Ultimately whilst you might be thinking about how you can stop yourself burning out, burnout is an organisational issue. You can get your boundaries in place, make sure you are taking breaks, find great self-care practices, but if the expectations of you and your role are unrealistic?then you might still find yourself moving through those stages.

Burnout prevention is the business of the charity, not just the individual.??