The story about the link between Quiet Quitting and Burnout – September Edition #6
Sarah Waylett
Chief Experience Officer @ Center for Innovative Leadership - ex-Innovation Evangelist @ Accenture - Human-centered, Design Thinking Facilitator - Mindfulness Mentor - Burnout Expert - Wellbeing @ Work Speaker!
Hello Dreamers,
I’ve read a number of articles and I’ve heard a lot of different perspectives, but I don’t hear many making the connection between burnout and quiet quitting. And so many leaders who tout well-being as being the most important thing for people to focus on have made statements like “Let’s Quit Quiet Quitting” from Arianna Huffington.?As if it’s a conscious choice that someone has burned themselves out.?I’ve said this before, most people don’t even know what is happening in their bodies until they are at the point of physical and emotional exhaustion.?So quiet quitting is really just doing what they need to do in order to heal.
Both to me are “occupational phenomena”, a term the WHO uses for burnout, but one I would apply to quiet quitting as well.?The WHO also describes burnout using 3 characteristics:
I don’t know about you, but those same characteristics seem to align with the descriptions of quiet quitting. Or at least the second two do and are likely caused by the first!
One of the first things I find with people who are in active burnout is that they are exhausted and need a break – sometimes their bodies demand it by landing them in the doctor’s office (like in my case) or worse the ER.?But a lot of times, people don’t take a break when they’re on their way to burnout. Here’s why:
Most people don’t even know what’s happening until they’re physically and emotionally exhausted.
There is so much stigma about burnout many people won’t talk about it with their manager or co-workers.?They don’t trust their manager to guide them without long-term repercussions on their pay and performance or at a minimum they deal with a “suck it up” mentality.?Many can’t afford to take the break unpaid if their company doesn’t offer a short-term disability benefit.?Some may have the benefit but don’t know how to navigate it with their providers, and there is a lack of support from their HR organization as well.
AND they’re so exhausted that even the thought of navigating all of those conversations is overwhelming.?So it’s no wonder that many are choosing to put better boundaries around their commitment to work instead.
Regardless of whether someone takes a break or not, the way I approach burnout recovery is through changing the way a person works. One, I teach them how to reset their nervous systems and create little systems of mindfulness that they can use throughout the day to consistently come from a place of calm and balance in their decision making. Two, I use the Dreamgarten Whole Self Well-being framework to allow them to get to know themselves through a lens of 4 dimensions:
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And three, the way we explore these dimensions is through design thinking methods to understand their own needs, ways of being, truths, and joys.?At the end, they have a toolkit of methods to reframe the stressors that may have caused the burnout and chronic stress in the first place.
I would imagine that to some these changes could look EXACTLY like quiet quitting because my clients aren’t unconsciously ruining their health through consistent overwork anymore.
They may even love their job and become more engaged, purposeful, and impactful in their work.?And to me, that is something to be CELEBRATED!!!
To learn more, check out my latest podcast and video event links below:
NEW! The Dreamgarten Path Podcast: Stories about Burnout from everyday people like you. Episode #1 featuring Lily Shepard, Founder, Lily Shepard Moves & Embodiment Coach
Empowering Asian Communities | Healing Unseen Grief | Advocate for Breaking Taboos and Ending the Cycle of Shame
2 年Oh I wish I had read your post over 20 years ago! There was no one around to recognise this then. It only became a thing years later. I shut down. And it took me years to come back.
Intuitive Hypnotherapist Helping Midlife Leaders Regain Clarity, Confidence & Momentum After Loss ??#ADHD #Worklifebalance #Leadership
2 年I agree. The comments about “let’s stop quiet quitting” and other blaming comments I’ve seen show the lack of empathy for what is often a complex physiological and emotional burnout shows us where we need to educate. Years ago as an executive level leader, I would have been considered a “quiet quitter.” The CEO drove out two executive teams and those of us left were in a very toxic environment. It’s a human response to shut down in those circumstances and not even realize the impact of accumulated trauma till later. Great article!