JANNEN BELBECK 2022-05-18 06:17:59
Burning bright or out
The algorithms have really gotten me. You search for “workplace burnout” once and now I see it everywhere online. In the sister publication to CND (Massage Therapy Canada) I wrote about buzzwords and how annoying they can be. But I neglected to include “burnout” in that, I believe. It’s everywhere, but only because it’s happening everywhere.
Perhaps your patients are experiencing it, or your employees and associates, and perhaps even yourself. Although descriptions vary, according to organizational psychologist Constance Noonan Hadley, burnout involves three distinct symptoms, and is defined by having all three of these symptoms at the same time:
Energy depletion and exhaustion – the kind of exhaustion associated with burnout is more chronic and nonspecific. It doesn’t go away after a vacation, and it is not tied to a particular project or deadline. It feels like a persistent fog weighing you down mentally and physically.
Depersonalization and cynicism – what used to motivate and inspire you about your job no longer has the same effect.
Reduced efficacy – a drop in work performance. Perhaps you used to be great at your job and now you feel yourself slipping.
So, if we know what it is, and how to recognize it, how can you support your patients, colleagues or even yourself when it comes to mitigating the beginnings of, or full-on, burnout?
Many companies over the past year or so have implemented 4-day workweeks, shortened workweeks or allowed work-from-home schedules to continue to mitigate burnout and loneliness. One recent video on my newsfeed espoused the need of “Weekend Wednesday.”
“The traditional weekend at best is 50% efficient – it takes three days off just to feel like two days off. And two days off feels like one day off.” So, the creator goes on to tell their audience, to simply move a day off to Wednesday. Pros and cons for everything, right? Personally while this wouldn’t work for me, I actually had a “Weekend Wednesday” in university and thrived with that schedule.
It’s always the little tweaks that make up for the bigger issues in life. In Naturopathy and Chiropractic, you help your patients take the small steps, to see the bigger picture.
Enjoy this issue, where our stories touch on the smaller steps to mitigate chronic pain in your patients.
JANNEN BELBECK, Editor
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