Burnout and its Influence on Employee Performance
Burnout is a syndrome associated with chronic work stress, symptoms like emotional fatigue, depersonalization, and low personal fulfillment. It affects general wellbeing, performance, and relationships at work. WHO recognizes it as an occupational phenomenon and stands out the necessity of preventing it through healthy work environments, organizational support, and stress management. (World Health Organization, 2019)
What is Burnout Syndrome?
Since 1981, Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson defined burnout as an inadequate response to chronic emotional stress at work. It manifests itself in three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal fulfillment. Causes include work overload, lack of control, poor recognition, interpersonal and value conflicts. Also, traits like perfectionism and self-demand increase the risk of emotional exhaustion. (Lachiner & Fernando, 2015)
How to identify burnout?
Burnout is a type of chronic stress that affects both health and professional performance, with physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms. These include persistent exhaustion, irritability, difficulty concentrating, cynicism, lack of motivation and inefficacy (Mayo Clinic, 2024) Headaches, insomnia, digestive issues, isolation and the use of substances can also occur. Without intervention, it can heavily deteriorate the personal and work life. (Flores & Revilla, 2023)
Importance of self-care and self-compassion
Mindfulness and emotional self-care start with recognizing judgements, labels, and automatic reactions to what we feel or live. A lor of times we answer with criticism or exigence, without noticing that those reactions surge from insecurity or fear, both common in everyone. By taking consciousness, we can let go of the judgements and accept that not everything is under our control. Instead of fighting the inevitable, it’s about treating ourselves with compassion, recognizing the effort without demanding perfection. Speaking kindly to ourselves and offering support strengthens resilience and reduces unnecessary suffering. Orsillo & Roemer (2014)
What to do if I have this symptoms?
Interventions to reduce burnout directly impact the employee’s performance. At an individual level, practices like mindfulness, relaxation and respiration help to improve emotional stability, which transaltes to a more efficient performance. Mindfulness, defined by Orsillo & Roemer (2014) as the capacity of paying conscious attention to the present moment, with an open attitude and curiosity; this is done by closing your eyes, being aware of your breathing and trying as much as possible not to get distracted. This helps to reduce anxiety and stress levels, reduce insomnia and physical pain, it also helps to improve interpersonal relationships, as well as the quality of life and how the individual faces problems.
Support between colleagues strengthens the sense of belonging and collaboration, increasing compromise. In organizations, offering professional growth, autonomy, and positive leadership boosts both wellbeing and productivity, being key strategies for a healthy and efficient work environment. (Razai et al., 2023)
References:
- Flores, A. M. A., & Revilla, S. E. C. (2023). Síndrome de burnout: un análisis desde el ámbito organizacional. Revista Científica Searching de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, 4(2), 44-61. https://doi.org/10.46363/searching.v4i2.5
- Lachiner, S. M., & Fernando, H. M. L. (2015). Síndrome de burnout. Revista Costarricense de Psicología, 34(1), 45-58. https://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?pid=S1409-00152015000100014&script=sci_arttext
- Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981a). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030020205
- Mayo Clinic. (2024). Conoce los signos del desgaste laboral. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/es/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
- Organización Mundial de la Salud. (2019). Burn-out an «occupational phenomenon»: International Classification of Diseases. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
- Orsillo, S. M., & Roemer, L. (2014). Introducción al Mindfulness: Darse cuenta de una capacidad que ya posee. En Vivir la ansiedad con conciencia: Libérese de la preocupación y recupere su vida (pp. 109-132).
- Razai, M. S., Kooner, P., & Majeed, A. (2023). Strategies and interventions to improve healthcare professionals’ well-being and reduce burnout. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 14, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319231178641
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