Work-related stress: are we losing the battle?
John Niland
Supporting professionals to build a powerful professional identity in the Age of A.I., rooted in self-worth and self-belief
On the subject of stress and burnout, the latest Gallup report makes dire reading:? 25% of leaders feel burned out often or always, and 66% feel it at least sometimes. 20% of global employees experience daily loneliness and it appears that wellbeing among younger workers has dropped again since 2023.? These findings are echoed in a recent UK HSE report: that 49% of absences are due to “stress, depression or anxiety”.?
Now I am wary of statistics. In the words of Andrew Lang, “they can be used as a drunken man uses lampposts: for support rather than for illumination”.? Yet these findings are sadly consistent with what I’m hearing from week to week.?
After three decades of endless talk about wellbeing at work, I sometimes wonder: has any real progress been made? For all the talk and even investment in workplace wellbeing, what is the impact? And indeed, when all the talking is done… what are we actually doing about it?
Three common pitfalls
Whenever a team or individual turn their attention to stress or wellbeing, I see three common pitfalls appearing time and time again. In no particular order…
1: The belief that an occasional “wellbeing session” will fix the problem, tick that box, and allow us all to “get back to work”.? Ah, if only!? There is no one-off wellbeing session on Planet Earth that can tackle the challenges of stress if it does not contain practical approaches to how we plan and manage workload. If we ignore this, all that happens is people roll up the yoga mat and go back into the overwhelm that existed before… plus even more work that appeared while they were taking time out for the well-being session.?
2: When we are in the thick of the forest, we naturally think that it’s the workload that’s causing the stress. (And often the people.) Yet it’s our response to the workload/people that is the crux of the problem.? The professionals most at risk here are the conscientious professionals who care. Their high standards, drive for excellence and values of service often combine to write a blank cheque for stress and anxiety. So, their response to overwhelm is to try harder and harder: often to the point of exhaustion. Even when knowledgeable about self-care practices, this knowledge is readily sidelined in the heat of the moment, in the drive to meet that deadline.??
3: Waiting for the right conditions, often very plausible ones.? “I just need to finish this first”. “We need the senior managers to support this, or it will never succeed”. “A new workload tracker / system is essential” etc. But waiting is not a strategy: it’s often another form of sophisticated procrastination.
The crux of the problem
If you want to enjoy your work life and permanently shelter from burnout, there are four pillars that need to be solidly in place. In no particular order, these are:
> Good daily and weekly habits e.g. how you start and finish your day, taking breaks, physical self-care… all the good stuff that most people now know about, whether they practise it or not.?
> A structured approach to planning and managing workload. Ideally, this would be shared and agreed with others, but what matters is that you have it.? If this is missing, no amount of good habits or positive affirmations will save you from stress.?
> Your relationship with your work. ?If you are depending on roles, people or achievement in order to feel good about yourself, you will always be vulnerable. This is when the distinction between self-worth and self-esteem is all important and has a massive impact on preventing burnout.
> Support and communication with others who value your work. Even if all three of the above pillars are in place, there is a world of difference between working with mean/manipulative people and a team in which everyone can be trusted to play their part and help each other. This is the pillar of culture and values and if you have ever experienced its absence, you will know just how important it is.?
Right now, what we see is most? of the focus going into one or two of these pillars, while the others get neglected. What then happens??
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> If you neglect healthy habits, anything you learn will be purely theoretical and will never be brought to life. You might simply browse endless recipes for well-being, but never cook the dish.
> If you neglect a structured approach to planning and managing workload, then the tsunami of stressful deadlines will only get worse, no matter how healthy your habits or how well-intentioned your colleagues. In the immortal words of John Harvey-Jones,"the nice thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise".?
> If you ignore your relationship with work and are depending on results, roles or positive appraisals from people in order to feel good about yourself, you will always be vulnerable—no matter how good your planning or habits are. I know this from personal experience because I ran on the fuel of self-esteem for years. Self-worth is a much deeper source of resilience and energy, which is why it has a massive impact in preventing burnout.
> Finally, if you ignore the role of culture and values, work life might still be manageable but will always be an uphill struggle. Coming back from holiday will be tough and so will Monday mornings. With each passing year, the struggle will only get harder and you will find yourself dreaming of retirement.?
Making real progress
The key to managing stress and preventing burnout lies in an integrated approach to these four areas. Whether you are doing this as a team or individually, whether you work as corporate employee or freelancer, whether you are senior or still in college, these four pillars support your work life from year to year.
You (and your team) are crucial to the success of the months ahead. So making real progress on wellbeing and preventing burnout brings a host of tangible benefits such as:
There are two ideal times to prioritise self-care. The first of these is years ago. The second is today.?
Next webinar
Our September Zoom is “Healthy Routines for the Autumn Ahead” on Thursday September 26 at 12noon UK / 13h CET, which includes:
Looking forward to seeing you there.?
How can we value our work if we do not value—and take care of—ourselves?
? John Niland, September 2024. For enquiries about John as coach or speaker, on topics of self-worth and professional identity see www.selfworthacademy.com or email [email protected]