Lately, I have been using way too many emojis to answer the question “How are you?” It is easier to give a thumbs up, happy face, crying face, poop pile, clown, and pixie than it is to explain in words the range of emotions that emojis convey. I’m ok, but wasn’t always. I know all-too-well the dulled edges that signal the start of burnout; this helps me be mindful of putting measures in place to help prevent it, for me and my colleagues.
Burnout, once considered a taboo state associated with a lack of fortitude and judged a weakness of those lacking resilience, has become a household term. As the pandemic wears on, it is terminology increasingly used to reflect and showcase the uncertainties and unruliness of our personal and work lives. Constant urgencies; a bombardment of bad news including political unrest and food insecurity; financial pressures, and a crisis of care in our communities and around the world have created an environment poised for universal burnout. How can we navigate through all this and not feel (as described in the Maslach Burnout Inventory and by the World Health Organization) a “…sense of exhaustion, reduced professional efficacy, increased mental distance, negativism and cynicism related to one's job?”
Having a sense that so many are feeling the same way, let’s explore this within the context of the not-for-profit sector. It is important to point out, that burnout is officially classified as a “syndrome that is limited to work environments and should not be applied to other areas of a person’s life.” This distinction helps us to understand burnout as resulting from chronic workplace stress that must be managed through the work environment and not solvable by simply prescribing self-care, which places the burden of responsibility on the individual suffering. Today this classification falls short of what people are acutely feeling. The causes, which stem from organizational issues and possible workplace toxicity, are being intensified by external factors conspiring to simply wear us out!
Signs and symptoms
In the 1980s, a pioneer in the field of burnout research, Social Psychologist, Christina Maslach, described burnout as having six main causes:
People working in the not-for-profit sector, in this case specifically public charities, may feel the causes differently. According to Exacthire.com, the nonprofit sector has a turnover rate of 19% - outpacing the average of all other industries at 12%. Nonprofit professionals are notoriously overworked and underpaid, at times benchmarking themselves against volunteers who seemingly do similar work for no pay at all. Workers in the sector also lack adequate channels for academic education and experience for their field of work. Add to these factors a culture of “surface acting,” putting on a perpetual happy face and positive attitude for volunteers and donors while catastrophizing situations to promote the cause we are working for “now more than ever before.” Above all, we seem to wear burnout like a badge of honor, regarding it as proof of hard work and value in the organization. Well, it’s not and never should be – even now more than ever.
Many who suffer from burnout do not recognize the signs, including: feeling isolated, angry, and resenting those around you, thinking all your colleagues are incompetent and only you can do the job right. Individuals suffering from burnout may see switching jobs as a way of combatting the syndrome, and now, during what is being coined the great resignation, many are leaving the sector altogether.
For those who stay, it is a harsh realization that most jobs in the charitable sector feel similar after the honeymoon period ends. This may stem from some commonplace factors. For instance, is the organization failing to recognize burnout in employees as stemming from organizational culture? How often do we evaluate our workplaces? It is wonderful if conducted regularly, but counter-productive if there is no follow-up with tangible and actionable items being implemented.
How many of us have experienced (with best intentions) the annual consultant conundrum? The same issues are outlined year after year with little discernible change. While conferences and seminars are great, they rarely provide proper sector-specific managerial training. In turn, managers are often not equipped to act on complaints and frequently perpetuate or turn a blind eye to micro-aggressions. We need to get better at caring for our employees and recognizing the key factors to creating healthy working environments that promote a holistic approach to employee wellbeing.
Ideas to ponder
Examine workloads and timelines. Are they realistic? The way we work had a seismic shift. Philanthropic gifts, once developed through bespoke relationship building, essentially went virtual and many organizations that relied on a myriad of annual in-person events were forced to reinvent their entire business models on the spot.
Given our present circumstance and the fact that there is a clear link between a lack of control and burnout, creating a positive workplace can start with ensuring high degrees of employee autonomy with the capacity to influence decisions that affect their work with the resources needed to succeed and perform at the highest levels. This can translate to employees being given the basic privilege of controlling their work schedule, in line with organizational needs, to accommodate working-from-home variables. Be mindful. Hold off on judging situations. Each one of us is experiencing and navigating our day with distinctive sets of challenges.
Strive to be an empathetic leader. Truly listen, and be aware of personal biases and privileges you may have. Pay particular attention to ensuring that there are levels of transparency, and that you are communicating regularly with staff about work-related topics but also ensuring there are proper channels for emotional support, providing a safe place to share. Demonstrate through actions that employees have been heard.
Rethink workloads, deadlines and the way meetings are conducted. Zoom is tiring. A colleague asked her team to submit pictures of themselves as babies and then started the meeting by having people guess who each person was. The next meeting featured their favorite photo, the next a favorite quote and so on. She described how this took the pressure off self-view and provided some good laughs. Another friend developed a randomly-assigned buddy system. The pair would discuss their work and then present for each other at the staff meeting. This simple exercise resulted in a heightened sense of empathy, interest and increased shared ownership of tasks. “Buddies” were more likely to offer support and help one another. A team working for a Hospital Foundation starts their meeting with a minute of silence and breathwork. This gives the team time to switch gears and come into the meeting refreshed. Yes! A full minute of mindful breathing can do that. I’ve started setting up delayed delivery for my correspondences. There’s no need for my colleagues to know I’m awake Saturday at 3:12 am – the email can wait until 9:30 Monday morning. 😊
Next: We will explore personal agency and ideas for piloting with self-care.
Debbie Dankoff, MPNL, PPCC, CFRE has been working in the not-for-profit sector for over thirty years. The bulk of her career has been in major gift fundraising for higher education. Debbie is a certified Professional & Personal Coach, who uses her training when consulting for a variety of organizations in the charitable sector; her focus being on organizational development, donor stewardship and self-care. Contact her, debbiedankoff@gmail.com
Teaser Photo by Verne Ho on Unsplash
