In the Netherlands, 1.6 million employees experience burnout symptoms. One in four sick days is caused by stress. And in ten years, the share of employees with burnout symptoms rose from 13.4 to 20.7 percent. Time to take a closer look at what burnout actually is.
The people I see with burnout symptoms mostly blame themselves. They're too weak, they can't handle it, they should push harder. Yet burnout often tells a very different story: that you're in a place that doesn't fit you. And yes, also that your head and your willpower speak louder than your body. That you keep going, while your body has long been telling you it's enough.
This blog is about the run-up. For when you notice you're heading that way, and you want to change course in time.
Old wisdom, new research
In many old traditions, Eastern medicine among them, burning out is linked above all to your destiny. Your personal blueprint: what you're meant to do in life, what truly fits you. When you're in touch with that blueprint, when you feel it and know it, inspiration, plans and ideas arise that are connected to it. And those are exactly the plans that give you energy.
We live in a society where we do a lot. We put a lot of energy out into the world, to get results, finish tasks and add value for the company. That in itself isn't a problem. The problem starts when it isn't connected to your blueprint.
Energy needs to circulate. You give it, and you get it back, like a kind of investment. Getting it back only works when what you put your energy into is connected to you. That connection gives you room to receive the energy it creates. That's how a system sustains itself: giving, and taking back in. But only when there's a match. When you can honestly say: there's a piece of me in this. Something in me comes alive in what I do, and finds meaning in it.
Modern research comes to the same conclusion. Burnout is largely about a mismatch between person and environment. That mismatch can sit in three places.
- Values. You're in an environment where other things matter than what matters to you.
- Community. Little connection with the people around you.
- Autonomy. Too little say over your own work, which leaves you feeling powerless. This affects many people: 42 percent of Dutch employees experience low autonomy.
A mismatch like that chafes, every single day. What you do, what you plan, where you put your energy and what you want to complete needs to resonate with who you are. When there's a mismatch, the energy you put in doesn't come back in equal measure. And that costs energy. You feel it, too. You get exhausted, you feel distant from your work and the people around you, and your motivation freezes. So you push even harder, on willpower.
A tip. We often see enjoying our work as a nice bonus. Which makes sense, because first and foremost the bills need paying. But it goes further than that. See if you can choose your work, or shape it, so that a part of you is engaged. So that a part of you can express itself in it. Otherwise you can get great results and still feel tired and empty. The deeper fulfilment is missing, and you can't keep that up.
A battery needs a plus and a minus
Besides the mismatch many people feel between who they are and their environment, we also easily learn the wrong things when it comes to action and rest. Look at it through the lens of Eastern medicine again, and you see that polarity creates aliveness. Both sides get to exist, and get to take turns. That's how nature works, and so do we.
What does that mean for work? Action and rest need to alternate. If they don't, you slowly wear out your battery. A battery needs a plus and a minus. The more it's only plus, the worse it works.
We often see rest as something that produces nothing. So we keep going with plans, to-do lists and ticking boxes. In doing so, we underestimate how unsustainable that is. Rest gives you something, and too little rest costs you a lot. In the short term we still reach that goal. In the long term, we pay.
A tip. See rest as something productive too. Keeping going doesn't make you smarter. You're only postponing the bill. Set your boundaries knowing that you're at your best when your energy is sustainable.
That little voice
In my experience, burnout is largely about that little voice telling you that you must. Willpower that pushes on out of obligation. The people I've guided through or towards burnout get to say more of what they feel and express more of what they think. They get to take up more space to choose, and to move from their own sense of truth.
That can be as small as saying what you think, or naming what you need. And as big as saying no to your job, and going for something else.
To bring your energy back into balance and prevent burnout, it helps to look at how much power you give your head and your willpower. And how much you give your body.
We live in a culture that's very head-driven and performance-driven. Without realising it, we've learned to move from willpower, plans, ideas and results. Our body awareness is weaker because of it. We feel body signals less clearly, they sound quieter than the voice in our head, and we give them less power.
Your head mostly faces outward, towards results and performance. Your body faces inward. A healthy energy system needs both. So preventing burnout is also about growing your body awareness, so your body signals get heard. And once you hear them, giving them more say in what you do. So body and head both get to speak.
A tip. Check in with your body more often during work. How do you feel right now? What is your body saying? And move a little more from what your body enjoys. Giving your body more voice, feeling what lights it up and what it needs, is exactly what I guide people in, in my coaching. How such a check-in feels in a group, you can read in the recap of my workshop at Wonders of Work.
Follow what makes you feel alive
That's why I'm such a fan of experience in my work. What it's like to get absorbed in something, to truly come alive, and how that feels. That feels good, yes. And it's also a very good compass for what fits you.
Follow that. Not only ambition, or a certain image of ambition, or just the doing. Follow the good feeling too. Then you do what belongs to your blueprint, and you get back three times the energy you put in. Then you generate energy, and you don't wear yourself out. A sustainable circulation emerges.
If you notice you're heading that way, there's still a lot you can do yourself, and the tips below will help you get started.
What to take with you
As you've read in this blog, preventing burnout starts on the inside. With your body, your feelings, your inner experience. They tell you sooner than your head whether something fits, when it's becoming too much, and what you need. Five things to take with you:
- Be aware of a mismatch. Does what you do fit who you are? Your values, the people around you, the say you need? The effect of work that isn't aligned with who you are is real. It costs you energy, every day.
- Alternate action and rest. Let both rest and activity, mental activity included, have their place. And alternate them regularly, not only once you're running on empty.
- Give your body a voice. Check in with your body more often, let your body awareness grow, and give what you feel more say in what you do.
- Follow what makes you feel alive. Your enjoyment is a good sign that you're doing what fits you. Then you don't only give energy, you get it back too. And that's very good burnout prevention.
- Be proactive. Talk to your manager and see what's possible within your current job. Shape your work so that you come alive in it again. And if the mismatch really is too big? Then you're allowed to look for an environment that fits better.
Already in burnout? Then rest and recovery come first, and everything else can wait. What happens in your body then, and what to focus on, you can read in Recovering from burnout.
Do you get overstimulated quickly, and feel a lot of what's going on around you? Then you hit overload sooner. Read high sensitivity at work.
How I can help
Recognise yourself in the run-up? That's actually good news, because this is exactly the moment you can still change course. It does matter that you don't stop at awareness, but actually start doing things differently. Carrying on is easy and feels the most comfortable. But it comes at a high price.
In my coaching we work with your body, not only your head. We look at where your energy leaks away, what makes you come alive, and how your work can fit you again. So your energy comes back, and you gain skills that stay with you for the rest of your life.
Feel it's time for a change? Book a free intro call, and we'll look at what you need together. Prefer to start on your own first? On my inspiration page you'll find my mini programmes. Small, affordable, and ready to use.