Workplace Burnout - Recovery & Prevention

We're coming to the end of another intense year amid the pandemic. The sudden changes of routine and standard procedures, the uncertainty of employment, emotional upheavals with managing loss (of life, human connection, income...) have all added to the pile of matters we have been assigned to work through. Work from home, the new normal, in many ways aggravated the accumulating stress by often blurring the lines between workspace and homespace possibly straining domestic relationships, putting professionalism under observation and, more often than not, leading to a feeling of being all used up physically, emotionally, mentally - burnt out.

Burnout was initially described as Chronic Workplace Stress and discussed in the mainstream medical journals as early as the 70s under the purview of medical practitioners & professional caregivers. It was initially understood to be a syndrome, a group of symptoms, of a psychological & emotional nature. This was also observed to affect those who worked under intense & chronically stressful, caregiving occupations - ER doctors, EMTs, nurses, hospice attendants, etc. The symptoms often included physical & mental exhaustion, fatigue, lack of motivation, no feeling of joy & accomplishment from work done, irritability, frustration, sleeplessness and may even lead to depression.

In 2019 the World Health Organization included 'Burnout' as an occupational phenomenon in their 'International Classification of Diseases' but categorically classified as not a medical condition. Yet, over the years the condition also described as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Chronic Stress Syndrome has been the underlying cause of enormous loss of productivity estimated at costing more than $500 billion off the US Economy back in 2015 according to the American Psychological Association.

Factors contributing to burnout indicated that workplace practices and culture played a strong role in employee wellbeing, which included addressing these causative factors. With growing concerns, conversations and social awareness on the importance of Mental Health and the impact it has on productivity, turnover and the bottom line, addressing burnout becomes imperative. On the one hand the symptoms are categorized as non-medical yet the proposed solutions to treat them with anti depressants without addressing the root cause may only keep the condition trapped in a vicious cycle. The intangible workings of the mind to address the cause of burnout is not understood by allopathic means where the focus remains on the physical attributes of the disease and corroborated blood work and symptomatology. If it is not detected in blood work and diagnostics, it cannot be classified as a treatable condition. With unknown causes, burnout is categorized as idiopathic and individual may be labelled as a hypochondriac, or worse, a non-productive liability to the organization.

The impact of un-addressed burnout is disastrous - to the employee, the employer and the economy.

It is here that time tested wisdom tradition of Ayurveda can come in to explain, help recover and prevent occurrence of burnout. Ayurveda, the wisdom of life, is a system of health, wellness and healing that comes from Ancient India and whose philosophy is rooted in the Vedas - the source of wisdom for this ancient civilization and culture. It is this philosophy that explains all of creation in terms of the gunas (qualities) of the five greater elements of nature (panchamahabhutas) - space, air, fire, water and earth that are contained in all matter, living & non living. The qualities include the tangible and the intangible qualities and hence determine the physical as well as the mental constitution, personality and predisposition of individuals. Our uniqueness is understood and our unique expression of health as well as disease is seen, heard and validated without being discounted as hypochondria.

Without going into too much detail that may bore my LinkedIn family & audience ??, let me quickly explain the basic philosophy of Ayurvedic wellness.

The five elements combine in pairs to form three fundamental energetic pillars of constitution or three doshas - Vata (combination of Space & Air), Pitta (combination of Fire & Water) and Kapha (Water & Earth):

The key qualities of each dosha determine the nature and tissue that is created in our body and, particularly to Ayurvedic understanding, the mind.

The physical body and its symptoms are largely described as qualities of the earth and water, so kapha - which creates an environment of 'bringing together' and 'cohesion' - this earth & water after the rains - the consistency of mud.

The water and fire elements of pitta are indicative of hot water or watery heat - the perfect environment for transforming rawness to its cooked form - be it food or effort - and it present within the body (and mind) to transform raw data into meaningful information and products.

The individual mind and its working is all Vata - the mind being an intangible but very real entity. This is an space that exists but we cannot see it or locate it, let alone decipher the speed of it's working and the nature of it's intricate workings. Ayurveda understands this very normal functioning of Vata as well as the nature of its symptomatology just by understanding its inherent nature. Ayurveda 'sees' and 'knows' Vata.

Too much Vata can dry up cool and sticky muddy Kapha into cracked up, aridity making it lose its ability to bind or bring together. An excess of Vata can dry up the Kapha qualities in individuals making them feel less connected to colleagues, less heard and unappreciated. The sense of belonging and nurturing that are Kapha qualities will be diminished.

Likewise, too much Vata can extinguish the pitta fire, too little of it can turn smouldering embers into smoke. Can you see the 'burn-out' factors in here.

Like I said earlier, going into the details, no matter how interesting, is beyond the scope of this blog, but the bottom line is Vata imbalances result in symptoms of burnout, chronic stress, fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability, etc... and I can go on & on about the associated pathophysiology... I can also assure you that the Ayurveda approach for something that is idiopathic in mainstream medicine today is an opportunity to help address this real workplace problem - especially in our present Pandemic related environment.

A 2015 Deloitte well-being pulse survey said 33% of employees felt uncomfortable taking personal time off / vacation days. The Indeed survey reports from earlier this year indicated that employee burnout has only gotten worse over the last year - with 67% workers believing it has gotten worse over the pandemic.

While acute symptoms of depression require immediate allopathic psychiatric medicaments to treat the disorder, Ayurveda is a wonderful protocol to prevent it by noticing the earliest signs as well as an supportive set of practice that can help recover from burnout and ideally avoid chronicity of symptoms. Here's an infographic & some tips for personal protocol that may be helpful:

Tips for addressing burnout at the workplace:

Eat on time - haphazard meals during a workday can increase empty airiness in the body as well as the risk of running low on fuel (and feeling depleted)

Take adequate breaks - daily as well as planned holidays. A walk around the block will bring in some fresh air to help clear the mind.

Socialise over coffee breaks with colleagues. If you feel the environment is not conducive to bond with team mates or to speak with your manager, do consider a change of job.

Hydrate & avoid nicotine. Drink sufficient water and avoid sugary, salty foods and/or stimulants like coffee and cigarettes.

Go to Mother Nature. Keep a potted plant on your desk, maybe set your screen saver to some greenery - or, simply close your eyes and imagine it! Nature is the best rejuvenant!

In my many years of experience in helping people use Ayurveda to find better balance as well as organizations find ways to inculcate harmony and wellness with their workgroups, HR personnel, Leadership team, etc, I have found that people - all people - want to be heard, seen, acknowledged and appreciated. They also need to know that their contribution to the collective is meaningful and worthwhile. This has repeated yielded happier and more connected team that create better organizational culture and productive, thriving teams and businesses. The bottom line is met and supported by every member of the organization.

Let me know what this article and topic might have brought up for you? What parts of it made sense? What parts of it brought on an, "Ah! That makes sense!" Or even, "Seriously? You want me to buy that?" It's perfectly OK and I'd love to hear from you. Drop in your thoughts in the comments section below!

Message me if you would like a personal consultation, to arrange for an educative seminar for your team or would like to work with me to improve the emotional intelligence of your team and business. Email at [email protected]