How to Prevent Burnout?

TOPICS IN THIS EPISODE

• What is Burnout?
• Why does Burnout Occur and How Does it Affect Us?
• How to best Prevent Burnout? 

HELPFUL  LINKS

• About the Host  - Ela Senghera 
• Start Your Transformation - Book Here
• Audiobook   Finding Love
• Get Free Brochure  -Be True You in Your Relationship
• About Cara  - Softer Success 
• Cara's podcast - Work Reset Revolution

Transcript

Ela: Hi Kara, welcome to the show.

Cara: Thank you so much. Wonderful to be here. 

Ela: So, um, Kara, can you tell me a little bit more about yourself? 

Cara: Yes. So I'm Cara de Lange. I'm, uh, the founder and CEO of Softer Success. I'm an author, a mum, and I also host a podcast called The Work Research Revolution. 

Ela: Fantastic. And Kara, you work with burnout.

Um, so you have your own business that is dedicated to, um, helping people prevent burnout. And heal from it once it occurs. Um, some of us have heard about burnout before, but some of our listeners, um, haven't heard at all. It's something that they are not sure exactly what it means. What is your definition of burnout?

Cara: Yeah. Okay. So I'd probably start off with the World Health Organization's definition of burnout, which is chronic work related stress that hasn't been properly managed. But I'd like to just tell a little story first about how I got into this. And that's because I, I, I suffered burnout myself, uh, many years ago.

And, um, I couldn't really. I didn't see it coming. I couldn't see the wood for the trees. I didn't know how to prevent it. And I also didn't really have the right solutions around it. And I wanted to understand the science behind it and say, what is it that gets us to this point? Um, and why is it happening so much?

And why do we see this happening so much? This, you know, physical and mental exhaustion. And uh, and that's really what led me to. Softer Success where we provide evidence back burnout solutions for organizations. And we've started to work with quite a few universities on it. So, um, you know, we work with Sheffield University and Kings College London and Leuven University Belgium to really understand that, that science, and I think that's my own personal passion.

Ela: .So when does burnout usually a cure based on your experience and when it, and how does it affect us? 

Cara: Right. So burnout, it doesn't just happen overnight. It's not your feeling stressed one day or one week, and then suddenly you are burned out. That's the wrong, wrong conception of burnout out.

Real burnout can take months. Uh, sometimes even years to build up. Right? Uh, I know in my case it was years of, um, not looking after myself properly, uh, not having enough rest. Um, and, um, and, and it can take a long time to manifest itself. And the issue is when somebody gets to the point of burnout, there's also quite a long recovery period.

When I went through my own burnout, I thought, Okay, what I'd really like to do, Um, have, what I would've loved is just to have a way to detect it. Why I was at risk of burnout or not? So what we've developed at, so success together with universities and psychologists that we work with is a very short, 90-second psychometric test that anybody can just do.

And the mobile really takes so quick since a minute, minute, and. Um, to assess whether you are at risk of burnout or not. Right. And then deliver some resources to help people understand and, you know, easily course correct to kind of reverse it and prevent it. Cause once we're actually there and you've had that diagnosis, it's quite a long recovery period.

Ela: I understand. So, um, am I correct thinking that it can affect us in different ways? Burnout, the symptoms are different for, can be different for anyone? 

Cara: Well, we look at six different pillars that we measure. Um, and many people think that burnout is simply just exhaustion. It's not cuz it, exhaustion is a, is a, is a factor and symptom, but there is also people are less productive.

Um, there's reduced. Um, uh, so less productive. There is a, um, um, disengagement that's the wave, the brain protecting itself when we sit and exhaustion for too long. Sure. We'll kind of remove ourselves a bit from that. Um, stress. It's the way how the brain protects itself. But we also look at, you know, some physical complaints, uh, because our, our stress hormone cortex blocks, so, I'm sorry, our stress hormone cortisol.

Blocks of prefrontal cortex, which is our logical thinking. So often when we're in a stress mood all the time, we don't detect what's going on in our body, you know? Whereas that that niggling neck pain, back pain. Sure. Am I sleeping okay? I'm like, where is there anything else going on? Plus another area that we've just researched with, um, Sheffield University, something called moral stress.

Moral injury. And that's when somebody has witnessed or seen an act that goes against their own values and beliefs. We're beginning to see a lot of this happening in business. And, and when that goes on for too long, that can also contribute to burnout. 

Ela: So, so, so we'll talk about this in a minute when we talk about burnout at work, but, uh, let's just briefly discuss, um, what we've all been through recently and what we could probably define as an aftermath of the pandemic.

So, I think it's fair to say that most of us have a very difficult time for different reason. During, um, Coronavirus and, and afterwards, how was it for you and your clients? Did you see any patterns in struggles and do you see them now perhaps still? 

Cara: Yes. Um, and we know that, uh, that there has been trauma, you know, from the last couple of years.

Mm-hmm. , even if we've sail through this pandemic and all the other global uncertainties that are going on. There is, and you know, you know, in University of California Urban has actually researched this, that. The ongoing anxiety that we felt around pandemic and other uncertainties has caused a bit of fatigue, right?

So some people may be feeling more tired, plus the, a lot of staying at home having to stay at home and not go about our normal day during some of the lockdowns has also had effect on some people's memory loss because, Uh, our hippocampus. Our seizure shape side of the brain has not been activated in the same way it would Sure.

So I'm, we are actually seeing clients going, Oh, it's taking me much longer to do the tasks that I would normally be doing, or I'm feeling much more tired from it to, to process things. Yes. Mm. It's a process things, but also taking longer and people are still. Trying to move in the fast way, but actually nobody's giving themselves really enough time to sit back and, and, and recover from this trauma.

We, we need a little bit of rest, and so instead of taking the time I see, or I see many people just. Speeding up, uh, like jumping, you know, diving straight back in. And I just wanna say slow down people. Cut out what you can, because it's only gonna spin faster. And we need to make sure that we are giving ourselves enough time to, to rest and to recover and to recover.

And I see this as an amazing opportunity actually. Really create a different way of working, you know? Absolutely. Not just we're working hybrid, you know, home or office. No. , uh, structurally different, um, you know, with a, a, a different mindset with different procedures in the businesses, with a different way of operating, moving away from this doing mode all the time, achieving more, but with less effort. 

Ela: That's right. Sounds wonderful. . And, and I know from my own experience, it's, it's totally doable. Um, but you have to commit to it and, and you have to follow through, right? So my next question to you would be, um, , you work with lots of companies, lots of, um, large organizations, medium, smaller size organizations, um, and you help them with, um, um, setting up policies and um, uh, Perhaps healthier ways of working to allow their employees, um, to thrive and be more productive.

What can organizations do differently to what you've observed in order to help employees prevent burnout? 

Cara: Yeah, so we have our Nine Steps to a Healthy Company and, uh, one and two of those steps are basically, um, measure. Uh, the risk of burnout and toxicity. Mm-hmm. So make sure you're doing an and that we, that can be done by our 90-second psychometric test, but make sure that there is, you do, um, a kind of business wellbeing assessment.

It's like a health check, right? Seekers of diagnostic tests to how healthy is my. Business, How healthy is my team? How healthy are my leaders? Really getting down to the root causes and finding out how healthy they are, but then also where some toxicity system from that we can work on changing around policies and procedures.

Um, Okay. You know, I be, I personally believe, and this is my future vision for it. Wellbeing, Um, and people should be at the heart of every business. Right? So we even want to see, you know, wellbeing as part of job descriptions and OKRs and to a point where, Think of your, you know, truck drivers that are, that have to drive a certain amount of hours and then take a rest, right?

Pilots, it's written into their contract. Now, many business of our clients obviously have nine to five or nine to six and written into their contract that they can have a break. But sometimes people just gave the rule out, so, you know, it doesn't suit me. I'm gonna continue, but that, that needs to be a little bit more structuralized because otherwise, It's not going to change.

So, um, so again, um, we have on our website aNine Steps to a Healthy Company, but those are the first couple of steps I would probably suggest for. 

Ela: Thank you for that. What about parents? So, um, there is a different part of the story, which is the burnout the parents suffer from. What's your experience being like, um, as a parent when you suffered with burnout?

Cara: Yeah, I mean, that was very interesting because I, I had very young children when I went through my burnout. Um, and first of all, as a mom, I realized that I also had. Uh, hormonal imbalances, which, which led to that. And I write quite a lot about that in, in my book, which, which, you know, contributed. Um, and it's a juggle um, and I think the first thing that we as parents need to realize that, uh, it is a juggle. And actually we need to pat ourselves on the back for that, that nothing is going to be perfect. Um, and there will be things that will not go quite the way and, and for a lot of mums that I speak to. So I feel like I'm just not doing my best in anything.

Um, and so what I would then suggest is really making sure that you take that time out for yourself. Mm. Because you matter. You are so important. Um, and we, we do, as mothers are and, and fathers, well put ourselves on the back burners, but we, we do matter. And that is so incredibly important to make sure that we, we take that time Mm.

Uh, for ourselves. Um, that's probably my one big message that I. So parental burnout is slightly different to work burnout because we can become burned out as parents purely for the, the, the responsibilities that we feel. And sometimes there'll be an avoidance of things such as, you know, um, I need to take a time away from my children.

I don't want, I, I need to work later so I don't have to deal with the, yeah, with the bed times or deal with this.

Ela: We've, we've all been through that, right? 

Cara: Yes. And we haven't, but there's much science behind it. We're still finding much more out about that. Um, it's definitely there. Mm. And so again, when that moment comes up, it's just about realizing that, saying, you know what?

It is okay to just. To take a break and to have, um, and to just ask somebody else to help you out. I mean, if you can't do it, you know, a friend, um, family member or, or anybody just. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not a weakness. Uh, when not a weakness. And when we see people, I mean, I, I always say I'm a recovered perfectionist.

Um, because, because one of my catalysts for my burnout was because I was a total perfectionist, you know, And, um, perfectionist at work. Perfectionist, lots of things long come. The kids, you. And, and, and, uh, I see myself and I, in my opinion, failing as a mother because I start to compare myself with other mothers and thinking, Oh, this.

And so that was one big thing that I, I, I realized is that, you know, I, it's not perfect. Nothing is perfect. And to release that and to be able to say that was incredibly liberating. And, and, uh, and. 

Ela: So I think this is why this conversation is so important because burnout prevention is, is everything. And, and I think unfortunately, many of us only realize that after they suffered from burnout.

Cara: Yeah that's why we're on a mission to, to raise more awareness.

Ela: Exactly. So my, my next question is what can we all do? Individually to perver, that burnout. You kind of already answered it. Mm-hmm. , because you said take a break. But is there any strategies, any steps that you feel work really well for most people when trying to, to take that break. What, what, what works?

Cara: Well, one thing that why I've seen work really well with our clients and also for me is, um, take charge of your own schedule. So many of us run on other people's calendars and schedules. Mm-hmm. , right? So, you know, our work, our, our boss, our partner, the kids, the dog, the cat, , um, the, the animals, right?

And there's so many different stakeholders in people's lives that we often run on those. Yeah. And I think my biggest message to people would be is take charge of your own, uh, schedule. By, um, making sure that at the end of the day when you close down and just before you go to bed, those, there, there is a, a moment in the subconscious that just before you switch out the lights, you can use a positive affirmation such as, I'm, I'm tomorrow, I'm, I'm peaceful and productive and I'm in charge of my own schedule. Right. So, which, which rewiring the brains here is a bit of a new renewal pathway re worrying. And the same thing, the first moment that people work, wake up. I mean, it can be anything that you wanna say, but basically I'm in charge. So the mindset there is very important because the overwhelm comes, is, is, is trying, you know, fit into everybody else.

And then I also want to say to people in the middle of the day, just. Even if it's a few moments to, to just connect with your body and, um, and ask yourself, what is it that I need right now? You know, um, as we are spinning much faster, I cannot urge people more to try to slow down, cut out what you don't need, right?

So I think that's one of my biggest messages at the moment, to give yourself a bit of space. and to cut out what it is that you don't need in your life. Right. So we are trying to do too much. What can you let go of ?

Ela: That is great advice. I, I really like that. I actually, I actually think personally, this also applies to our relationships.

And I think we are trying to satisfy too many people at the same time. Friends, family members, our spouses, our partners, our children, our employers. Thank you so much, Cara. It was wonderful talking to you. Um, for anyone who's interested in your book, uh, in your podcast, um, or in any of work you do, where, where is the best place to find?

Cara: Yes. So softersuccess.com will have the book, um, booke also on Amazon. Mm-hmm. , uh, any of the work that we do. We also have, uh, more information about our psychometric test organizations, uh, to assess the risk of burnout. And the podcast is on Apple and um, uh, Spotify and Google just Work Reset Revolution.

Um, so look forward to seeing more people following that, cuz we've got some really interesting change makers coming up. 

Ela: Great. And thank you so much Cara. Lovely chatting to you today. I hope you have a good day. 

Cara: Thank you. It's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.