Maybe Burnout’s NOT a Given: You CAN Foster Mental Wellness in the Workplace

[Welcome to?Cultivating Vibrant Workplaces!?In Issue #12 we revisit an important and timely interview/article I posted in 2019 (also featured in our forthcoming book ) regarding stress, burnout and the positive influence of intrapersonal skills on both. I invite your comments below regarding stress mastery strategies and work practices that help keep you healthy, well and productive in these dynamic times.]

It’s no secret that jobs have become more demanding. The concept of 9 to 5 no longer exists—just as we have become glued to our devices, we have gained the ability to bring work with us wherever we may go. And while this has, in theory, improved productivity and connectivity, it has also taken a significant toll on employees and leaders alike.

Stress and burnout: the demons lurking in the cubicle next door

As humans, we can only take so much stress before becoming completely fatigued, burnt out, and unable to perform effectively (and possibly end up like the gal in the above picture).

The Five Distinct Phases of Burnout

According to Kaur Lass, Managing Director of Wellness Orbit in Estonia, European Union, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing in 2019, there are five distinct phases of burnout; knowing what they are can help us identify when we are reaching the edges of our limits.[1] This is absolutely crucial since, according to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychology, there is an 86% overlap between burnout and depression (i.e., “In categorical analyses, 86% of the teachers identified as burned out met criteria for a provisional diagnosis of depression.”)[2]

He shares that the overlap with depression mainly occurs when we are in the fifth phase of burnout. If we hope to protect ourselves and our employees from reaching this state, we must take proactive measures early on.

According to Kaur, phases One and Two of the burnout path help make us productive in the short term as we ride on positive stress—it gives us the adrenaline rush and energy needed to push through weariness and fatigue.

In the initial stages of burnout, an employee may choose not to take time off, enabling them to accomplish more. However, after the initial and short-lived burst of productivity, there’s a risk of negative consequences such as irritation, anger, nervousness, and insomnia warns Kaur. Enter phase Three of burnout—emotional stress begins to manifest as physical exhaustion: you can’t stop; you’re tired but can’t sleep, and you may experience physical health problems. For example, you desire peace but are exhausted and constantly experience conflict. If you proceed along this burnout path, you may likely reach phase Four, where you experience a fundamental mood shift and health crisis. And if you reach the final stage of burnout, phase Five, your physical body is likely too tired to get out of bed. At this point, a person may experience depression if they have not already.

Mental Wellness: a possible fork in the road

Sad but true, today’s unrealistic workloads and heightened stress levels are putting employees on the highway straight to burnout and depression. That said, HR and Workplace Wellness leaders can help employees apply the brakes and change lanes through proactive approaches to working and mental wellness training programs. One example is intrapersonal education, such as Wellness Orbit's digital mental wellness gym, developed by Dr. Helena Lass, a psychiatrist specializing in mental wellness. This gym incorporates the best of mindfulness and awareness teachings and combines them with medical and entrepreneurial knowledge. Dr. Lass, Kaur’s business partner, has been pioneering systematic intrapersonal development programs for more than 10 years and has helped many people become more self-aware, present, focused, and productive in their work and home life.

Intrapersonal skills: the key to lasting mental health

Wellness Orbit views self-awareness and intrapersonal skills as the keys to understanding one’s inner domain. According to Kaur, intrapersonal skills—the ability to understand and appropriately act on what is happening inside oneself—are often underdeveloped. Yet, they are of the utmost importance in cultivating emotional and mental wellness.

A fundamental tenet of intrapersonal skills is learning to understand that our feelings and our thinking are not the same. “It is essential to separate the two and learn how to manage one’s intrapersonal processes without causing inner turmoil,” says Kaur. He contends that once awareness-based intrapersonal skills are cultivated, we better understand how to lead ourselves—and, by extension, how to lead others.

"Directing awareness helps bring us back to the here and now, where we can focus on our work tasks and collaborations with our team members and respond to situations more constructively."

Intrapersonal skill-building can also enhance life away from the office. When we focus on being fully present and attuned to the moment, work and stress can be more easily left in the office, and the home can once again become a place of rest and friendly relations.

While he acknowledges that genetic factors may contribute to some mental health conditions and illnesses, many work-related emotional and mental health issues are situation-based and often develop slowly over time. He suggests that by training employees to identify their inner reactivity and emotional turning points, we might be able to help them circumvent or mitigate dangerous habits before they become debilitating.

Kaur also recognizes that stigma can prevent employees from openly discussing their feelings and mental health concerns. As a result, people often ask for help far too late. For this reason, he urges individuals at all levels of an organization: If you feel overwhelmed by your workload or exhausted by the mere thought of getting up with your morning alarm, it may be a sign to attend to your mental wellness and seek professional help!

Message to employers: enhanced Mental Wellness = enhanced productivity

While we might like to believe that employers will embrace mental health initiatives for purely altruistic reasons, experience has shown us that this is not typically the case. However, altruism aside, research has demonstrated that employees' diminished focus and emotional wellness will, over time, impede both employee and organizational performance and growth.

As we know, lack of focus makes it difficult to accomplish even the simplest tasks. Studies suggest that when employees multi-task or split their focus and attention, it can take up to 23 minutes to regain that focus. So, if employers are concerned about devoting work-day hours to training and developing intrapersonal skills, they might well consider the number of employees who are losing precious hours of productive work time due to a wandering ‘monkey mind’ and their inability to deal with distractions.

Cultivating mental wellness should be a strategic focus of organizations

Kaur and his team at Wellness Orbit contend that by understanding their intrapersonal processes, employees are more apt to achieve fundamental or brilliant insights that help drive organizational success and bolster the bottom line—far more than if they are stressed, tired, or burnt out. For these and other reasons, Kaur and Lass advocate proactive learning and intrapersonal skill development for optimal stress mastery, well-being, and work performance.

He also asserts that underdeveloped intrapersonal skills contribute to toxic, unhealthy work environments. For example, instead of positively managing their thoughts and negative reactions, employees may spit out their inner turmoil, and when it comes back at them, they are often surprised and blame others. By contrast, organizations that foster self-awareness and mindful practices help lay the foundation for cohesive and collegial work cultures. When employees replace automatic reactions with self-awareness and appropriate responses, they often examine situations with a more positive and constructive approach. As a result, they are more respectful and supportive of one another.?

According to Kaur, leaders can also do their part in cultivating mental wellness within their organization by walking the talk and modeling self-leadership with their own mental and physical fitness. So, what does that modeling look like in real life?

It can be as simple as breaking away from their desk, taking time to attentively listen to their people, or inviting their team to a walking meeting to get to know them in an open and serene environment. It’s also about reminding employees that while physical exercise is vital to their well-being, they still need to attend to nurturing and training their minds.

In summary, proactive mental wellness training can go a long way in supporting both employee and organizational wellness. An excellent place to start may be through offerings that help develop intrapersonal skills—fundamental life skills that begin with self-leadership as a foundation of self-care!

WWCOE Announcements and Upcoming Programs

The?Workplace Wellness Centre of Excellence?is excited to be launching the next offering of its?Executive Wellness Leadership Program ?(EWLP) this fall, beginning on Sept. 26/22.

In this nine-week, highly interactive, skill-building program, 10 selected?Workplace Wellness and HR professionals?(i.e., currently employed in internal full-time roles within organizations) will acquire advanced/progressive skills and toolkits for fostering healthy, vibrant and thriving work cultures.

EWLP graduates have benefitted from career advancements in HR and Workplace Wellness and have become valued 'strategic business partners' to their senior leadership.

Graduates also benefit from post-program support and networking opportunities through our?Executive Wellness VIP Mastermind?group.

***We have also added two new Early Bird bonus offerings--career game-changers for the 10 chosen participants who register early--more details will be shared in the program consults.***

Check out our EWLP program page?here ?and?sign up for our Interest List. Shortlisted candidates will be?notified of?Discovery Consults?to be considered for one of?10 spaces?in the program.

Book Update!?Our book is in the final production stages, and we are most excited about its launch this September/early October. Visit our website to sign up for our?Book Interest List ? to receive book release notifications and special promotional offers!

Sign up for our CVW newsletter!?If you have not already, subscribe to our?CVW newsletter ?to receive future issues in your inbox and notifications of our?soon-to-be-launched podcast,?Cultivating Healthy & Vibrant Workplaces.?Our?kickoff episode will feature Part 1 of a three-part discussion between Philippa Dawood, of Scarborough Health Network, Jesse Gavin of Baylor College of Medicine, and Ryan Wolf, of Gallup, Workplace Wellness leaders who are blazing trails with their respective organizations.

Sources:

[1] Kaur Lass, Managing Director, Wellness Orbit, interview with author, April 11, 2019.

[2] Irvin Sam Schonfeld and Renzo Bianchi, “Burnout and Depression: Two Entities or One,” Cuny Academic Works, accessed on April 20, 2019, https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1276&context=gc_pubs.