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Lately, this is very common medical term as "professional burnout". For the first time, employees of the Montreal Hospital spoke about him. Many believe that this disease is nothing more than a form of depression. However, there is something to argue about here.
It is believed that this syndrome is one of the forms. Earlier (in 1974), the concept appeared. But professional burnout is a process of prolonged exposure to stress-causing factors on the body. And they are all connected with the professional employment of the patient. That is, this disease is a serious chronic process.
As a rule, this syndrome develops most often in people who, by the nature of their activities, constantly communicate with people or are engaged in intellectual work: journalists, teachers, doctors, leaders in various fields, and so on. Professional burnout has several characteristics. So, with its development, there is complete apathy for work, colleagues (even if you were friends before) and for everything that happens, in general. As a rule, a person appears and begins to think that he is not competent enough, he has little experience and knowledge to occupy this position or post.
As a rule, this syndrome has a number of physical signs. The fact is that due to the accumulation of negative emotions, the body begins to deplete. And this is expressed in a constant feeling of fatigue, increased fatigue, sleep disorders (regular insomnia). The person becomes very irritable, he begins to have problems with vision and hearing,
In general, burnout syndrome can occur under the influence of three factors:
- Personal. According to psychologists, women are more susceptible to such a disease. The fact is that it is they who tend to endure all the difficulties associated with their professional activities very emotionally. Also, this syndrome often develops in those people who are more humane and prone to sympathy. They are often carried away by the idea, light up, and their passion can reach fanaticism. Also, professional burnout is no less dangerous for authoritarian and reserved people who have a low level of empathy.
- Role. This syndrome is most often found in those teams where the duties and responsibilities of employees are not clearly distributed, actions are inconsistent, and competition is increased.
- Organizational. Professional burnout directly depends on the level of psycho-emotional activity (the need for active communication, which requires emotional costs, decision-making, high concentration on the perception of information). The unfavorable atmosphere in the team also increases the risk of developing the syndrome: conflicts, bureaucracy, the need to work with psychologically difficult members of society (sick people, etc.).
Many seriously believe that this disease is just a fiction. In fact, this is a serious disease that requires treatment. At the first symptoms, you should seek the advice of a psychologist. If there are also physical symptoms, you need to visit a therapist.
Prevention of professional burnout requires a constant alternation of work and outdoor activities. At work, you need to be able to switch from conflict situations on the positives, don't dwell on one thing for a long time. You also need to determine for yourself the appropriateness of choosing a profession or place of work. Maybe it's just not for you. Then the solution to the problem lies simply in right choice kind of activity.
In recent years, in the domestic and foreign literature on psychology, the problem of mental burnout and related chronic fatigue syndrome. In our opinion, great importance It has practical solution this problem in the field of activity of personnel managers, employees of personnel bodies and managers different levels etc. This topic needs close attention, since the negative consequences of mental burnout, which are analyzed in the article, are reflected in the results of activities not only individual worker but also the organization as a whole.
Burnout mental- a mental state characterized by the occurrence of chronic fatigue and emotional indifference caused by own work, and combining emotional emptiness, depersonalization and reduction of professional achievements.
A brief digression into the problem
For the first time, the term "emotional burnout" was proposed by the American psychopathologist Herbert Fredenberg in 1974 when conducting research in representative groups of workers who felt gradual emotional exhaustion, loss of motivation for their main activity and reduced ability to work.
Unlike professional deformation, mental burnout is more often referred to as a complete regression of professional development, since it covers the personality as a whole, destroying it and negatively affecting efficiency. labor activity. An analysis of the subjective sensations of people at the stage of emotional burnout indicates that they differ from similar sensations associated with "normal" physical fatigue. The phenomenon of emotional burnout, firstly, is directly related to professional activities, and secondly, it is irreversible and does not disappear after sleep and other forms of rest. Psychological science denies the identification of this phenomenon with such conditions as depression, fatigue, stress.
Herbert Fredenberg considers those who are most prone to sympathy, humanity, who are idealists, introverts and have a low level of mental stamina to be the most exposed to emotional burnout. However, a person's stay in this state depends not only on his individual psychological characteristics. The phenomenon of emotional burnout is primarily associated with organizational factors, which will be discussed later.
In 1981, a well-known researcher of the problem of professional burnout, Edward Morrow, proposed a rather original term that reflects the internal mental state of an employee experiencing the distressing effects of burnout - “the smell of burning psychological wiring”.
According to modern research, mental burnout is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion, manifested primarily in professions social sphere.
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Distress(from English. distress- grief, suffering, exhaustion) - stress that negatively affects the body and can completely upset a person's behavior and activities. Chronic distress generates serious dysfunctional and pathological disorders in the body. Depersonalization- a change in self-awareness with a characteristic alienation of one's "I" and a painful experience of the lack of emotional involvement in relationships with relatives, colleagues, etc. Reductionism(from lat. reductio- return, movement back) - a conscious or unconscious methodological setting aimed at reducing the phenomena of one order to a qualitatively different order, which unreasonably simplifies approaches to solving an existing problem, ignoring it. |
Signs of professional burnout
Most researchers who study this problem consider the following signs of professional burnout:
feeling of indifference, emotional exhaustion. At the same time, the severity of feelings regarding those events that were previously perceived pleasantly, joyfully decreases. This applies not only to experiences associated with professional activities, but also with recreation, hobbies, communication with others. Even the food that was liked before is perceived as rough, tasteless;
depersonalization (in some sources - dehumanization). This refers to a certain degree of cynical attitude towards colleagues, persons with whom one has to work and communicate, to one's own professional activity in general, which leads to conflicts with colleagues and the environment. Depersonalization tends to develop in stages. First, a person begins to feel negative emotions towards the indicated persons, then anger, which can lead to affective outbursts. For employees, this can manifest itself in an increase in the number of conflicts in the team, with managers, ignoring business partners, buyers, and clients. An attitude is being formed towards them not as individuals with whom a common important work is being done, but as a means of achieving a specific goal by any means;
feeling of own incompetence, lack of professional skills, lack of confidence in positive results professional activity. There is a reduction in professional achievements.
In the presence of all these signs, a condition arises that the famous modern Russian psychologist Leonid Kitaev-Smyk assesses as associated with the loss of life values, indifference, and therefore the most socially and economically dangerous for society. A person outwardly can maintain aplomb and respectability, but be with an “empty” look and lack of interest in the world around him.
One of the indicators of emotional burnout in professional activity is a state of mental stress caused by conflicts, difficulties in solving complex social problems leading to chronic anxiety, a feeling of constant discomfort, frustration, pessimism.
Chronic stay in a state of increased anxiety and the discomfort caused by it negatively affects the health of the individual, is accompanied by appropriate symptoms and leads to the emergence of unconscious experiences, anxiety, and various disorders. According to the US National Institute of Health and Occupational Safety (NIOSH), over 35 million people in the world today suffer from burnout-related problems. Results of studies carried out consulting group My Voice shows that British companies spend around £13m a year to pay workers who fall ill due to all sorts of work overloads.
A person's stay in a state of constant anxiety leads to the development of pre-neurotic states and a hypertrophied perception of the world around him as one that carries a danger. In this regard, there is a threat to his mental health, and this negatively affects the performance and professional orientation of the employee.
Who is most prone to emotional burnout?
There are many factors that affect the emotional state of an employee and lead to his emotional burnout.
Firstly, from emotional burnout, representatives of those professions who, by type of activity, are forced to communicate a lot and intensively with different people, suffer the most. First of all, these are medical and social workers, consultants, teachers, law enforcement officers, psychologists, personnel managers.
Secondly, the “risk group” includes people experiencing a constant intrapersonal conflict: they have low wages, poor working conditions, are not provided with housing, etc. professional qualities and individual psychological characteristics of managers to their positions, which lead to the adoption of erroneous management decisions, become serious reasons for the employee to enter the “risk group”.
Thirdly, employees whose professional activities are carried out in conditions of constant instability and fear of losing their jobs are more exposed to emotional burnout.
Fourth Against the background of constant stress, signs of emotional burnout appear when a person is in a new, unusual environment in which it is necessary to act quickly and effectively. Often in such situations new employee acutely aware of his incompetence. In this case, signs of professional burnout may appear after six months of work.
Fifth, residents of megacities, living in conditions of imposed communication and interaction with a significant number of strangers, are more exposed to burnout syndrome.
This list of professions and factors can be supplemented. It is generally accepted that burnout syndrome develops in those whose profession requires a long stay in extreme conditions, a constant elevated level of neuropsychic stress without proper rest. And we are talking not only about purely physiological factors associated with working conditions: heavy physical exertion, vibration, increased speed, a significant amount of information that overloads the visual, auditory and kinesthetic analyzers. First of all, these are: psychological and organizational difficulties, the need to constantly be “in shape”, the impossibility of choosing a contingent for professional communication, the lack of sufficient emotional relaxation, a significant number of contacts during working hours, unreasonably irregular working hours, and the absence of positive factors.
Psychologists believe that those who are forced to communicate with people who are in a negative emotional state and have various physical and mental defects are especially quickly affected by the negative manifestations of the syndrome.
Burnout stages
Modern research has determined that the formation of a burnout syndrome in an employee goes through three main stages.
First stage: at the level of performing functions, independent behavior, forgetting at the right time words, terms, facts of making entries in registers, etc. There are interruptions in the performance of simple motor actions (systematic erroneous typing of letters on a computer keyboard or replacing some letters with others when writing manually ). These actions are sometimes taken calmly or can cause irony, however, they are an alarming signal that is ignored in most cases. But such “insignificant” at first glance mistakes, for example, in the work of nuclear power plant operators, can lead to tragic consequences.
Depending on the nature of the activity, the degree of neuropsychic stress, individual psychological characteristics, the first stage can form within 3–5 years from the beginning of a certain activity.
Second stage: decreased interest in work, need for communication (including outside of work), increased apathy, discontent. At this stage, the appearance of negative psychophysiological manifestations, such as headache, increased systolic pressure, pelvic pain, etc., becomes noticeable. The number of respiratory diseases increases, increased irritation appears. The period of formation of this stage on average is from 5 to 15 years.
Third stage: directly personal burnout. It is characterized by a complete loss of interest in work and life in general, emotional devastation, lack of vitality. A person tries to communicate with animals as much as possible, to retire. Suicidal thoughts may appear, which in some cases are realized. Negative psychosomatic manifestations and disorders are intensifying, which will be discussed later. This stage is formed from 10 to 20 years.
Burnout symptoms
In general, the symptoms characteristic of the professional burnout syndrome can be conditionally divided into three main groups: psychophysiological, socio-psychological and behavioral.
To psychophysiological symptoms relate:
a feeling of constant fatigue that does not disappear after sleep (a symptom of chronic fatigue);
feeling of physical and emotional exhaustion;
decrease in the level of perception and reactivity to changes external environment(lack of reaction of interest to the factor of novelty or fear to a dangerous situation);
general asthenia (weakness, decreased activity and energy, deterioration of blood biochemistry and hormonal parameters, frigidity, impotence);
causeless headache, skin irritations, tachycardia, dryness, bad taste in the mouth, persistent gastrointestinal disorders, etc.;
sudden loss or increase in body weight;
complete or partial insomnia (rapid falling asleep and no sleep after 4 a.m. or inability to fall asleep in the evening before 2-3 a.m. and difficulty waking up in the morning);
marked deterioration in vision, hearing, internal and external sensory sensitivity.
Leading Researcher Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education Natalia Samoukina and some other authors express a well-grounded idea that professional burnout is one of the main reasons for the decrease in life expectancy of people in Russian Federation especially among men.
Over the past 5 years, among the men who died in this country, over 80% were people of working age (from 15 to 59 years).
Among socio-psychological symptoms distinguish the following:
indifference, boredom, passivity and depression (decreased emotional tone, feeling of oppression);
increased irritation, affectively negative reaction to trifles;
an increase in the number of nervous breakdowns, "immersion in oneself";
constant experience of negative emotions for which there are objectively no reasons (feelings of guilt, resentment, suspicion, etc.);
a feeling of unconscious excitement and a state of increased anxiety;
a feeling of hyper-responsibility and fear (“I can’t”, “I won’t succeed”);
a general negative attitude towards life and professional prospects.
To behavioral symptoms relate:
the appearance of a feeling that work is becoming harder and harder;
changing the working regime (early to work and late to go home or come late and leave before a certain time);
diligence constantly, without an objective need to take work home, but not to do it at home;
refusal to take responsibility, to make decisions;
decrease in optimism about work, indifference to its effectiveness;
non-fulfillment or postponement of important (priority) tasks and "braking" on small details, spending a significant amount of working time on solving objectively less important problems;
distance from colleagues and clients, increasing the level of inadequate criticality;
abuse of alcohol, sleeping pills or other sedative drugs; a sharp increase in smoking, the use of narcotic drugs.
Among the reasons that most negatively affect the work of employees and lead to professional burnout are the following:
monotony of activity, especially in cases where its necessity can be subjectively considered doubtful;
investing in the work of significant personal resources in the absence (insufficiency) of recognition and positive assessment from management, colleagues, society;
strict regulation of work time, especially with unrealistic deadlines for its implementation;
joint work and involvement in it of "unmotivated" persons for such activities, certain failures on this basis or the absence of noticeable results for a long period;
tension and conflict in the professional environment, lack of support from colleagues and the presence of constant criticism;
insufficient conditions for self-expression of the individual at work, especially in cases where such attempts are not encouraged, but are veiled or openly limited;
prevention of experimentation and innovation;
lack of opportunities for further training and professional development;
the presence of unresolved conflicts in personal life.
Organization burnout
The gradual formation of these symptoms of professional burnout among workers can lead to a kind of professional burnout. the whole organization. The signals of this burnout are the presence of the same psycho-emotional symptoms in many employees, behavioral manifestations inherent in the burnout syndrome. As a rule, in most cases this is due to general pessimism in the organization, dissatisfaction with the results of work (certain events) expressed by employees. Faith and hope are lost in the possibility of changing something on their own.
Based on the works of Natalia Samoukina, other authors and our own observations, we can conclude that the main reasons for the professional burnout of organizations are frequent changes in managers at all levels, annual organizational and staff changes, constant conflicts between strategic and tactical leadership, increased demands on employees, delegation of authority. for those who, due to their professional and individual psychological qualities, are not able to perform these functions, the lack of objective criteria for evaluating performance and an inefficient system of motivation and incentives for personnel.
LITERATURE
Samoukina NV Effective motivation of staff at minimal financial costs. - M.: Vershina, 2007.
Martynova T.N., Busovikova O.P. Siberian psychology today: Sat. scientific works. - Issue. 2. - Kemerovo: Kuzbassvuzizdat, 2003.
Orel V. E. The phenomenon of "burnout" in foreign psychology: Empirical research / Journal of Practical Psychology and Psychoanalysis. - No. 3. - 2001.
Kitaev-Smyk L. A. Psychology of stress. - M.: Nauka, 1983.
To understand what is professional emotional burnout or, as it is sometimes called, emotional burnout, imagine the following picture. The man just comes on new job. He is full of enthusiasm, ready to move mountains, give his best, help everyone around and, of course, make an annual plan in a couple of months. But over time the sparkle in the eyes goes away, the desire to help is replaced by cynicism, indifference and the state of "Better leave me alone." Of course, such a transformation can be caused by various reasons, but often we are talking about the syndrome of emotional burnout. We propose to talk about what characterizes this condition, what factors influence it and what to do if it seems to you that emotional burnout of a person is about you.
What is emotional burnout?
Actually general description We have given emotional burnout above: this is a gradual fading of a positive attitude towards work up to complete disgust, depression and / or other manifestations that significantly reduce the quality of life and can lead, among other things, to somatic diseases. This term was introduced in 1974 by a psychiatrist from the USA. Herbert Freidenberger(Herbert Freudenberger): he appropriated the name Burnout (or Burn-out) to such a "transformation" and described it as "a state of physical or mental exhaustion caused by professional life."
It is believed that, first of all, the emotional burnout syndrome is typical for those who work with people and their problems (doctors, nurses, teachers, consultants, etc.). But really this condition can affect absolutely anyone, including those who formally do not seem to be working - students, housewives, etc. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on work-related burnout, but the same can apply to personal, non-work life as well.
Symptoms of emotional burnout
Professional burnout is characterized by a number of versatile symptoms that can manifest themselves to varying degrees in different people. The degree of severity depends both on the nature of a particular person, on the characteristics of his work, and on the neglect of the state. This variability and the general non-specificity of symptoms, on the one hand, lead to the fact that some people diagnose themselves with burnout, while they need to work on another problem, while others turn a blind eye to their condition and bring it to very unpleasant stages.
We will describe the most typical symptoms, but note that these are far from the only possible options. In any case, it is very important to distinguish psychological emotional burnout from ordinary fatigue, general unsettledness in life, a sense of insecurity, a feeling that life is stuck, etc., although such conditions can indeed have something in common with the syndrome under consideration.
Burnout Symptoms: Physiology and Mood
The first large group of symptoms of emotional burnout concerns mood and well-being. Those affected by this syndrome experience chronic fatigue, apathy, lethargy and they don't go away even after enough sleep. 
The person seems to running out or significantly reducing energy, which ceases to be enough not only for work, but also for leisure. By the way, sleep disorders(insomnia or, on the contrary, constant drowsiness, very long periods of sleep) are also one of the symptoms. Man with burnout syndrome doesn't want to do anything, nothing pleases him, etc. Often the only desire is that everyone leave him alone. Life begins to be perceived in gray-black tones.
All this can lead to somatic diseases, primarily cardiovascular or nervous. In addition, many have decreased immunity, because of which they easily catch colds, etc. Moreover, the body may not specifically resist disease too much, knowing that the sick leave will give rest from work that is unloved today. Unfortunately, these are far from the only options for how psychological emotional burnout can affect the physical condition.
"Work-emotional" symptoms of professional burnout
If you suspect that the problem of emotional burnout is relevant for you, take the Boyko and Maslach questionnaires. These tests use different methods and evaluate the presence of this syndrome from different angles.
The second group of symptoms of emotional burnout is associated with the work itself (the main activity). One side, the desire to do one's work disappears or drops to a minimum, even if (especially if) the person really liked her before. It causes dissatisfaction, guilt in front of clients, colleagues, or management, which aggravates other symptoms. Those who work with people who develop the syndrome in question often see for themselves how changing their attitude towards patients, clients etc.: the desire to help gradually develops into rejection, unwillingness to communicate, irritability. Such people often show the features of true misanthropes.
Many begin to think about the meaning (or rather, senselessness) of their work. It leads to depressive moods, including the depressive perception of life in general, which we discussed above. At the same time, some people think (sometimes quite justified) that on they could be much more useful elsewhere, they would have more interesting responsibilities, higher wage etc. Nevertheless, the decision to change the company, which is quite logical in such a situation, is not accepted by everyone. It is not always easy to come to him anyway, but in this case we are dealing with a person who is tired of everything and does not want anything.
Causes of emotional burnout
As a rule, professional emotional burnout is a defensive reaction of our psyche to certain adverse factors. Approximately according to the same model, outright cynics turn out from doctors over time - otherwise it simply does not work out. The main difference here is that you can work quite successfully with cynicism, but the emotional burnout of employees becomes a significant problem both for the employees themselves and for the enterprise. And if you do not pay any attention to this condition, it can lead to sad results, for example, to depression or neurosis.
If we talk about the most particular causes of emotional burnout, then for a start we will divide them into two conditional groups: psychological and physiological levels. It should be noted that these groups are interconnected, and it is psychological reasons that play the main role in the formation of professional burnout (and this is logical, otherwise we would only talk about physical exhaustion).
Causes of the physiological level
De facto, in many cases, the main cause of this condition is chronic stress from the series “We didn’t have time to help one person, as we immediately didn’t have time to help another”. Constant rush and work at the limit of forces often lead to the fact that the body tries to protect itself from such loads. Most of us can overcome various difficulties along the way (personal or work). 
For example, for some time to work in two shifts and / or seven days a week. We are able to strain in order to achieve a certain goal, after which the body definitely needs time to relax, recover, and rest.
One of the key factors in this case is the presence of a goal. When there is no achievable goal, you have to constantly work at the limit of your strength, and there is no end in sight to such a regime, the situation is changing radically. Using all the available physical and mental strength, the body does not have time to recover, loses reserves, switches to a resource-saving mode and looks for ways to protect itself. The result of all this can be emotional burnout.
Of course, everyone's energy reserves are different, and what one succeeds without problems, the other categorically does not fit. For example, someone can adapt to a demanding schedule and go out to meet friends after a 24-hour shift; others feel a complete breakdown after 8-9 hours of work. All this is absolutely normal. There is a theory that the body produces as much energy as it takes to cover our needs, and a little more. However, this is not the case with emotional burnout. Why? The answer must be sought in psychological causes.
Causes of the psychological level
Prevention of emotional burnout
Formally, the enterprises themselves are not least interested in the prevention of burnout, because employees exposed to this condition are less effective, which affects the results of their work. However, as we said, in reality, such an approach is not always found, so the principle becomes more effective: "The rescue of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves." 
So what can you do to prevent burnout?
First of all, don't forget have a good rest:
- remember, that sleep will not be filled. Let's repeat the simple truth: getting enough sleep is very important, no matter how utopian it may seem. Relaxing rest, meditation, etc. are also good.
- In most cases, a break from work does not mean sitting in prostration in front of a TV or browser. Hobbies, alternative activities(courses, master classes, etc.), meetings with friends, walks, outdoor activities, trips to museums / theaters and much more that brings you positive emotions and allows you to escape from current tasks.
- No matter how much you love your profession, company and/or money, do not take overtime or extra work if you feel it is too hard for you. As we said, everyone has their own reserves and energy reserves. If you have the opportunity not to work through force, do not use this opportunity to take advantage.
In addition, the prevention of burnout syndrome includes workflow adjustments. If you have the first symptoms of this syndrome, it is better to re-evaluate your activities and your regimen before burnout develops. For example, agree to processing only in extreme cases - when it is really necessary. Help colleagues only when you have time to do so. If you are still doing the tasks of a colleague who left a year ago, hint to the manager that it is time to look for a replacement.
Sometimes what leads to burnout is that some simply can't rest and, coming home, continue to finish or think over work tasks. If you are happy with this, this is one thing, but if such behavior becomes a bad habit that interferes with rest and spoils your mood, you should get rid of it (including with the help of a qualified specialist). It should also be considered as one of the preventive measures against the syndrome in question.
If it’s too late to talk about prevention and it’s time to think about how to deal with emotional burnout, refer to our next material.
Professional "burnout" of employees - causes, consequences .
A few decades ago, the concept of "chronic fatigue syndrome" came to us from the United States. He means that a person wakes up in the morning already tired, he cannot rest either for the night, or for the weekend, or for the vacation. This is what fatigue is, and not physical, but rather emotional fatigue- employees who are emotionally tired all day are most susceptible to it.
So, mental burnout is a condition that characterizes the occurrence of chronic fatigue, which is caused by work, depression and internal emptiness.
For the first time, the term emotional burnout”applied by the American psychopathologist Herbert Fredenberg in 1974, when he studied workers who were exhausted from work. It's believed that emotional fatigue more common among idealists and introverts, as well as among people prone to strong sympathy.
What are the signs of emotional fatigue?
Firstly, it is apathy towards everything, a person is no longer happy with him career, he no longer seeks promotion through the ranks, he is not happy with what used to bring positive emotions.
Secondly, he behaves cynically, both in relation to work and to his colleagues, in connection with which he becomes the epicenter of conflicts.
Thirdly, the reduction of professional achievements. He becomes insecure in himself, in the profession.
If we summarize all the signs of emotional fatigue, then this is indifference to life, lack of brilliance in the eyes. Such a person becomes socially dangerous. Chronic stay in this state adversely affects health, unconscious anxieties and disorders arise. A constant stay in a stressful situation can cause mental illness, which may not affect professional activities.
According to the US National Institute of Health and Occupational Safety, more than 35 million people today suffer from burnout-related problems.
Who is most susceptible to the appearance of this disease?
emotional fatigue occurs primarily in people who communicate a lot and often with different people. As you understand, these are primarily doctors, social workers, teachers (here communication is not only with children, but also with parents, who are often negative), psychologists and, of course, staff members.
This disease can be acquired by people who do not have social protection, for example, those who are not provided with their own housing. These are those who have low wages and difficult working conditions.
emotional fatigue- companion of those who may be threatened dismissal .
A person is subject to stress when changing jobs, when he joins new team. He needs time to adapt, and he is expected to make quick and correct decisions. If he cannot quickly become “his own”, emotional fatigue may appear in six months.
And the main victims of this disease are residents of megacities, who are surrounded by many strangers. They are constantly in traffic jams, pushing in the subway, visiting large stores. Every day is a new stress.
The burnout syndrome is also inherent in those who are in extreme conditions for a long time, when there is an increased nervous load, and there is no opportunity to rest. It is advisable not to communicate with people who are negatively inclined, otherwise it aggravates their own mental state.
Specify the stages of burnout. There are three of them:
1. at the level of performing some actions - a person begins to forget words, turns of speech, often makes typos when typing. The person himself usually reacts to this ironically, but this is a signal that emotional fatigue begins to destroy your mental state. This stage can last for several years, from three to five.
2. Decreased interest in work, striving for more communication, including outside of work. There may be a headache, increased systolic pressure and pelvic pain. This period can last from five to fifteen years.
3. personal burnout - complete emotional devastation, lack of vitality. A person seeks solitude, or communication with animals. This stage takes ten to twenty years to develop.
Psychophysiological symptoms - fatigue, even after sleep, a feeling of devastation (both physical and emotional). This is an unreasonable headache, tachycardia, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract; insomnia; deterioration of the organs of vision, hearing.
Socio-psychological symptoms - depression, irritability, unconscious excitement and anxiety.
Behavioral symptoms - being late for work or vice versa, early arrival. Refusal to make decisions, failure to fulfill priority tasks; abuse of alcohol or sleeping pills.
Burnout is a consequence of prolonged exposure to stress in a professional environment. It arises due to the irrationality of the labor organization and the disordered execution of tasks. The causes of the syndrome of emotional burnout are considered to be the synthesis of three factors - indifference to work, fatigue and a decrease in the assessment of one's own usefulness. Of course, the measure of the existence of each of them takes into account the individuality of the person and the place of work, so let's take a closer look at this issue in more detail. The first point is “indifference to work” and, if you think about it, it is not at all difficult to understand that it may appear due to distraction to some other area of receiving information, moreover, this may be some unresolved issue in the family or personal experiences, maybe more desire high paying job- anything. The very essence lies precisely in the loss of interest in the matter, that is, a person can no longer receive the necessary emotional charge and moral satisfaction from the fulfillment of his official duties . Fatigue is next on our list. But here everything is quite obvious - how can you work effectively when sleep literally overcomes you at the workplace? It is quite natural that a lack of strength will distract from professional activities, which will ultimately lead to an obvious decrease in the quality of work performed. What is important to note is that not only physical overwork can influence here, but also moral. And, finally, the last thing is the reassessment of professional value - it may seem to a person that he does not bring significant benefits to the organization he works for, he does not have a sufficient sense of moral satisfaction with his own work. All three of these components lead to the same thing - scattered attention, the inability to concentrate it on one task and immerse yourself in it properly. It should be noted that there are also so-called “risk professions”, which are the most susceptible to the influence of emotional burnout. Basically, these are people who, due to the specifics of their work, have to spend a lot of time communicating, negotiating and actively making acquaintances with new people. For example, these are teachers, doctors, managers, and the last of these have a special situation, that is, stress is born both from the atmosphere in the office and from interaction with clients. The contrast of these states invariably makes a person spend more energy on his work than would be required in a harmonious environment. In addition, a person does not always have time to navigate the workplace, switch from one task to another, maintaining himself in the initially taken rhythm of work. And because of all this, various kinds of unrest also arise in him, lingering for a long time and making the worldview tense. It can also be said differently - if the requirements for an employee prevail over his resources for a long time, then the person inevitably approaches burnout. A person affected by stress gradually begins to lose interest in learning new things, ceases to approach work creatively, perceives it as a routine. Moreover, he is far from always able to independently identify the burnout syndrome, it would even be more correct to say that he is almost never able to do this consciously, but will only notice the emergence of difficulties in performing tasks that become more difficult than before, although, in fact, they do not differ character from the previous path. In this case, one should think - can these problems consist in the fact that the body cannot release as much energy as it is required from it? Could it be that he turned on the protective mode and just saves power? In order to find out, you should listen to yourself and your feelings, and determine what rules and norms we rely on when spending our day. Experts in the field of psychology and psychotherapy have identified key points for identifying such conditions, it remains only to determine how much they are relevant to us. There are five main criteria, based on which you can analyze yourself for exposure to burnout at work. The first and most obvious is the change in a person's well-being, the deterioration of his health. Each organism is individual, and therefore it will react to burnout solely on the basis of the primary state and genetic information. For someone, this can manifest itself in insomnia or weight changes (moreover, there is both an increase in it and a decrease in it), and an exacerbation of chronic diseases often occurs. It is desirable to give the latter Special attention, because the manifestation of this factor invariably indicates that the body has moved to a different level of functioning and, unfortunately, by no means better. Paying attention to health in general, try to catch - what exactly is missing and what could improve the feeling of yourself. You probably also noticed that the vivacity of the body and the feeling of health in it stimulates the appearance in us of Have a good mood? Second on the list is the emotional component. Science has already proven that pessimists live shorter lives, but there are still people who come to work with a sour face and waste away over papers until the evening. What could be the efficiency here? Much better when a person starts tasks with a smile and a positive attitude. That is why we should not allow negative trends as at work, because it affects us and, lingering in the soul, has a bad effect on our ability to work. Therefore, if the worker has a good mood - this is already half the battle, the second is maintaining it. The next symptom concerns the intellectual sphere. It includes a drop in interest in the case, methods of its optimization. In other words, it is the mechanization of labor. Sometimes this happens due to the fact that a person is faced at work with a misunderstanding of the authorities, who see the labor process from a different angle. Because of this, the last factor appears - low social activity, lack of communication and, as a result, isolation and the inability to express oneself. This can also apply to relationships with loved ones, but, one way or another, it consists in a misunderstanding and some inconsistency between the internal state and the external one. It is very important to maintain peace of mind, because any stress is expressed in the body as a disease. Why is there stress, even just a feeling of a situation that did not live up to our expectations, lingers in us, persisting until such time as the quantity reaches a critical point. This is where the most “interesting” begins - everything that we kept in ourselves begins to be expressed in diseases and problems of various kinds, which become very difficult for a person who is morally weakened to cope with. What to do in such a situation, and how to get out of it? Famous medical specialist Luule Viilma devoted many years to this issue and developed a whole methodology for getting rid of stress. She believes that the reason for the accumulation of stress in a person is that he lives, evaluating his world (in our case, this is the process of work) in two categories - good and bad. That is, one should think like this - if the day is unsuccessful, it does not mean that the whole life is unsuccessful, while our task is to let unwanted emotions pass by. It turns out that we can consciously regulate ourselves and not expose ourselves to unwanted moods. If we ourselves learn to consciously choose the mode of operation of our body and manage to select the information necessary for the performance of our affairs, to refuse the “noises” that take us out of our usual rhythm, then no difficulties in the process of our work can be considered insoluble. The high-quality implementation of the work depends entirely on our condition. We are the head, the decision-making center on which the outcome of our work depends, so you should organize yourself to the maximum and catch what exactly you need at this moment in time. Academician of RAMS Pavel Sidorov believes that when an employee shows signs of burnout, it is necessary to pay attention to his working conditions and, if possible, improve them. To do this, Sidorov proposes to use the following recommendations: - definition of short-term and long-term goals; - the use of "time-outs", which is necessary to ensure mental and physical well-being (rest from work); - mastering the skills and abilities of self-regulation; - Professional Development and self-improvement; - avoiding unnecessary competition (NOT-comparing yourself with other employees and choosing your own pace of productivity); - emotional communication (that is, sufficient sensations, experiences that a person usually receives in communication with people close to him); - maintaining good physical shape. We must not forget that the main role in getting rid of burnout and prevention lies with the person himself, and it depends only on his actions whether he manages to organize the process of his work or not. Think, feel, desire. The main thing is the most comfortable feeling of yourself, understanding of your goals and a sincere attitude both to the people around you and to the type of your activity. Our perception becomes free from stresses when and only when we allow them to come out, otherwise they will press from within and prevent us from working productively. You can do a thousand things, but the main thing is to be able to get interested and develop. A person, being a creator, in fact, can express his potential in all areas, it can be not only a house, but also a favorite job. Harmonizing yourself, you can achieve unimaginable creative heights, trying to do your work with high quality, paying attention to every detail and enjoying the process and moral satisfaction from what has been done.
- Which employees are most prone to burnout?
- In some cases, just a heart-to-heart conversation helps
- How to arrange emotional unloading for employees
- 5 Known Causes of Professional Burnout Everyone Forgets About
Professional burnout is a process that is manifested by increasing indifference to their duties and what is happening at work, a sense of their own professional failure, dissatisfaction with work, and ultimately in a sharp deterioration in the quality of life. In this article, we will consider 5 main reasons that can provoke professional burnout among employees, and how it can be prevented.
Causes of professional burnout
Reason 1. Wear and tear. When employees have to work at the limit of their ability, there is constant stress all the time. At some point, professional burnout occurs because of this. To identify such a burnout, the most effective way is to conduct confidential conversations.
To prevent negative consequences for initial stage, for an employee, you can offer an additional day off or send him on paid leave. Such a rest gives the opportunity to restore their strength. For example, I recently noticed a significant decline in the work of one of the top managers. He has established himself as a true professional, having successfully completed many projects. But so active work specialist had a negative impact on his condition, there was a professional burnout. Based on the results of the conversation with him, I offered a trip to Thailand to participate in an event that we organized together with the company's business partners. Such a business vacation turned out to be really effective for a specialist who was able to perfectly restore his strength and began to work effectively.
- Emotional intelligence is a powerful weapon of a true leader.
Every month I organize meetings in which the entire management team of our company participates. In a comfortable informal atmosphere, the situation in our company is discussed, with the search for optimal solutions and ways to eliminate current problems. We organize not just a meeting, but a kind of master class - each of our leaders shares their experience with colleagues, while getting the opportunity to learn from others. We jointly solve problems until they expose one of the employees to professional burnout individually.
Reason 2. Unstable financial position of the company. We have to admit that in many companies employees are delayed in salaries. If a similar situation may arise in our company, it is better to immediately gather employees and explain the reasons for the problem with payments and the expected time frame for normalization of the situation. From experience, one can speak of the readiness of many employees to understand the position of their management.
For example, in the real estate market, the main part of the failures with the payment of money occurred during the crisis. We also had to face this problem. Then I decided to assemble a team, honestly explaining the future prospects of the company, and invited each of them to decide for themselves whether to look for a new job or wait for money. Many then remained. It turned out that these are the most reliable personnel for the company, which the manager should especially appreciate.
Reason 3. Routine. The day-to-day tasks of most employees remain the same from day to day. After 1-1.5 years, there is a desire to supplement the work with something new, but such an opportunity does not always exist. The total number of our employees is over 3.5 thousand people, so we regularly encountered a similar situation.
The optimal prevention of professional burnout is emotional unloading. Therefore, we regularly conduct various cultural trips (to the theater, to exhibitions), with the organization of interesting corporate events (sports competitions, picnics in nature). In particular, we plan to organize a game similar to "Fort Boyard" for the Builder's Day. Anything unusual increases the interest of employees, giving them extra vitality.
To do this, the following measures are useful to maintain the tone of your team:
- Conducting training sessions.
- Function expansion. If an employee in a heart-to-heart conversation complains about his fatigue from monotony and his skills have already reached the stage of automatism, I can suggest that he share his knowledge and skills with less experienced colleagues - for example, become the head of a mini-department.
- An increase in salary or in a position (such decisions are made subject to the achievement of individual KPIs.
- Internships in other departments of our company, abroad or in the regions of the country (for example, they offered their chief architect participation in green building courses held in Ireland. Today he successfully uses the knowledge gained in the courses in practice, helping the company to develop).
Reason 4. Dissatisfaction with superiors and colleagues. Employees in medium-sized companies often do not have sufficient authority, without the ability to make decisions on their own. The consequence of the lack of sufficient freedom in work is professional burnout. Consider an example of such a situation - the head of one of the departments faced the problem of delegation of authority after increasing the number of his subordinates. Previously, he did everything on his own and was afraid that when delegating his tasks it would turn out to be unnecessary. Many people face similar fears. They believe that they are indispensable, and no one will do the job at the proper level. I had to participate in this issue, explaining to our employee that the delegation of their powers becomes necessary in a multifunctional mode of operation. Changes like this need to be planned so that each employee is responsible for the part of the job they can handle. After all, you don’t need to immediately overload employees with responsibilities, you should increase their workload in stages - only this condition allows you to maintain stable growth and further development of your department. Such communication and clarification of the situation allowed our employee to cope with the problem.
- Conflicts between employees: why they arise and how to solve them
Personal conflicts between employees arise in the work of any company. Personally, I think that at the same time, an effective manager cannot stand aside - he must be able to resolve such problems. Consider an example from the practice of our company. 2 heads of one of the departments quarreled so much that the conflict directly affected the quality of their work. I decided to delimit the area of responsibility of each of them - for one, Moscow and the Moscow Region, for the second, all other regions. Consequently, there was a certain competitive environment between them. Thanks to this approach, it was possible to retain important employees, achieving the efficiency of the enterprise.
Reason 5. Impossibility of career advancement. When starting work in a company, many young people believe that after six months they will be able to achieve a promotion, starting to rapidly overcome the steps in career ladder. When such success is not achieved, then the effectiveness of their work is significantly reduced. To avoid this situation, HR professionals should engage in explanatory conversations about career prospects, considering real examples how a particular specialist was able to achieve career development in the company, and what was needed for this.
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He speaks CEO Mikhail Zhukov, Managing Director of HeadHunter, Moscow Based on the results of their study, they were able to determine that only a few domestic employers monitor the emotional state of employees in their team in order to influence it in a timely manner. The majority of respondents (about 80%) emphasized that they felt professional burnout - in the form of fatigue, irritability and loss of motivation for work. The motivation system can influence the emergence of professional burnout syndrome. At proper organization the motivation system manages to maintain the fighting spirit of its employees for many years, keeping them striving to achieve high results. If the company does not pay due attention to the issues of motivation, then employees will often ask for a promotion or salary - only such measures will contribute to their desire to give all the best at work. Even worse than the neglect of motivation is the wrong organizational system. The consequence of 2-3 mistakes in matters of emotional or financial encouragement is the loss of a person's desire to work. When an employee has a burnout syndrome, there is no need to rush to fire him. It is always necessary to understand the reasons for such a situation. After all, in the case when something is done wrong in the company, you will often have to think about changing employees. It should be taken into account that employees often call a conversation with the manager one of the means of solving their problems. Therefore, it is important for employees to understand that the manager is aware of their professional difficulties. |
