Presented by: Bice Awan, Skylight and Julie Crawley, EAPWorks at OHSIG 2014, Wednesday 10/9/14, Lower NZI Room, 10.45am

1. Sorry, but I need to resign…

2. Objectives of the workshop
• Raise awareness of burnout and its impact
• Complete a burnout inventory
• Provide interventions to decrease the likelihood of
burnout
• Provide strategies to pro-actively support those in
‘high risk’ roles
• Work on a case study to identify possible
interventions

3. Burnout is:
• Physical, emotional, mental
or spiritual exhaustion
caused by sustained stress,
without adequate adjustment
• When the body’s reserves used in the stress response have run
out, leading to
- feelings of emotional exhaustion
- physical fatigue
- cognitive weariness
- reduced performance

4. Anyone can suffer from burnout.
It is not a sign of weakness, mental illness or
inability to cope with life.
It usually happens to hardworking high
achievers.
Burnout can be treated, overcome, and
prevented in the future.

7. Why do people feel
they need to resign?

8. Top Workplace
Stressors

10. Our lives impact our work in many different ways …
• 30,000 deaths per year
• 83 Homicides & 39 murders per year
• Over 300 road deaths per year
• More than 50 sport related deaths per year
• Over 500 deaths by suicide per year

11. And…
• 10,000-plus divorces a year
• 9,000 children affected by family breakdown a year
• 20,000 women and children seek refuge a year
• 20,000 diagnosed with cancer
• Around 700,000 informal carers look after family
member/s with an illness or disability

12. A recent British study indicated that 13.8 million days per
year are lost through work-related mental health issues.

13. Possible Sources of Burnout
Work overload for too long
Role conflict
Lack of control
Values conflict
Insufficient resources or rewards
Perceived unfairness
Breakdown of work relationships
Managing multiple roles
External life/family stressors

15. Impact on performance of
executive and senior management
• 85% indicated decision making very poor
• 40% indicated decision making had negative financial impact

16. Impact on performance
of supervisors
80% indicated interaction
with staff very poor
65% indicated this had
negative financial impact
on company

17. Impact on performance
on physical job holders
50% indicated lack of
concentration
= injury and lost time
90% indicated higher rate
of physical injury due to
reduced concentration

18. How burnout affects
workplace performance
“I believe we need to
define success beyond
the two metrics of
Money and Power. We
need to include the third
Metric that incorporates
our Health, Wellbeing &
Wisdom. We cannot tape
our lives and watch it
later.”
Adrianna Huffington

19. What the law requires
Health and Safety
• Prevention of harm includes mental harm caused by
work related stress
• Identification of hazards – not just physical but
behavioural
Note: The HSE Act – if harm is foreseeable, employers must
take reasonable steps to control this through elimination,
isolation and minimisation.

20. Potential life issue losses
INCIDENT COST TO BUSINESS P.A
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21. Potential costs of ignoring life issues
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TTOOTTAALL 115599 -- 116699 BBiilllliioonn

22. Potential costs of resignations
based on average over 1 year
Position Impact on Organisation
General Employee up to 3 x Salary
Mid-level Employee up to 7 x Salary
CEO/GM up to 15 x Salary
Note: People troubled at work are at best 50% productive
Source: ROI – Lost Cost of Troubled Employees Marsh Ltd & Right Management, 2009

23. The Cycle of Survival
Anxiety about future
Expectations/responsibilities
from others
Exhaustion/Feel
trapped
Scrambling to
perform
Anxiety about performance

24. Stress or Burn Out?
Stress Burnout
Over-engagement Disengagement
Emotions are over-reactive Emotions are blunted
Urgency and hyperactivity Helplessness and hopelessness
Loss of energy Loss of motivation, ideals, and hope
Leads to anxiety disorders Leads to detachment and depression
Primary damage is physical Primary damage is emotional
May kill you prematurely May make life seem not worth living

25. Burnout is separate
but can be connected….
Stress

26. The Human Function / Stress Curve

27. Capacity
Challenge
Under-utilised
Disengaged
Disengaged
Disengaged
Overwhelmed
Engaged
The challenge of
maintaining engagement

28. Cumulative Stress Response

29. Physical signs and symptoms of burnout
• Fatigue - feeling tired and drained most of the time
• Frequent headaches, back pain, muscle aches
• Lowered immunity, feeling unwell more often
• Change in appetite or sleep habits
• Trembling
• Clumsiness
• Anger
• Rashes and skin complaints
• Depression

30. Emotional/cognitive signs of burnout
• Difficulty remembering things, making decisions
• Lack of concentration
• Sense of failure and self-doubt
• Feeling helpless, trapped, and defeated
• De-personalisation, Detachment, feeling alone
• Emotional exhaustion and loss of motivation
• Increasingly ambivalent, cynical or negative outlook
• Decreased satisfaction - little sense of accomplishment

31. Behavioural signs and symptoms of burnout
• Increased irritability - taking out frustrations on others
• Performance drops off, increase in accidents
• Withdrawing from responsibilities
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastinating, taking longer to get things done
• Using food, drugs, or alcohol to cope
• Skipping work or coming in late and leaving early
• Absenteeism increases

32. The Way Forward

33. 4 levels for Burnout Prevention
Personal level
Team level
Office level
Organisational level

34. Burnout prevention tips for the individual
• Begin and end the day with a relaxing routine
• Adopt healthy eating, exercising, and sleeping habits
• Set boundaries e.g. leaving work time, saying ‘No’
• Take breaks during the day and regular time off
• Take a regular break from technology
• Nourish your creative side – enjoy a hobby
• Have fun
• Learn how to manage stress – which strategies suit you?
• Assess your thinking (cognitive restructuring)
• Keep connected to a significant other - buddy / mentor /partner
and friends
• Nurture the spirit – connect with nature, art, inspiration
• Have a regular check in and monitor changes

35. Laughter isn’t
called the best
medicine
without reason!

36. How can we prevent burnout at
work?
• Regular assessments – checking in
with employees and listen
• Monitor workload
• Have realistic expectations
• Provide adequate resources for the tasks
• Work on building positive relationships, connections
• Work on building a ‘No-blame’ positive work culture
• Work on consistency
• Have professional supports in place e.g. EAP

37. PPuurrppoossee
Employees who derive meaning and significance from their work
are more than 3 times as likely to stay with their organisations -
the highest single impact of any variable in our survey. These
employees also reported 1.7 times higher job satisfaction and
they were 1.4 times more engaged at work.
VVaalluuee
Feeling cared for by one’s supervisor has a more significant
impact on people’s sense of trust and safety than any other
behaviour by a leader. Employees who say they have more
supportive supervisors are 1.3 times as likely to stay with the
organisation and are 67 percent more engaged.

38. FFooccuuss
Only 20 percent of respondents said they were able to focus on one
task at a time at work, but those who could were 50 percent more
engaged. Similarly, only one-third of respondents said they were
able to effectively prioritise their tasks, but those who did were 1.6
times better able to focus on one thing at a time.
RReenneewwaall
Employees who take a break every 90 minutes report a 30 percent
higher level of focus than those who take no breaks or just one
during the day. They also report a nearly 50 percent greater
capacity to think creatively and a 46 percent higher level of health
and well-being.
Towers Watson cited in ‘Why You Hate Work’
By TONY SCHWARTZ and CHRISTINE PORATH MAY 30, 2014T

39. The resilience advantage at work
1. Take Care of Yourself
2. Connect with Others
3. Take Advantage of your Strengths
4. Be Active
5. Use and Develop Your Key Skills
6. Use your Sense of Humour
7. Keep a Positive Outlook
8. Keep Learning
9. Keep Tuned In
10. Contribute to Others

40. Employers Responsibilities:
The three R’s for HR
Recognise
– Understand the signs and symptoms – individual and
systemic
– Establish processes for raising issues safely
Reverse
– Establish a culture of taking care of human capital
Resilience
– Develop a Health & Safety culture that has
emotional resilience embedded into it

41. Case study – what would you do?

42. Helping employees who are impacted by anger or
post traumatic stress
• Acknowledge the realities – name it
• Train employees in de-escalation techniques
• Role play scenarios – so employees feel empowered
• Debrief after significant incidents
• Possible role rotation
• Encourage self care – provide professional Supervision
and EAP support

44. “The twin goals of preventing burnout and building
engagement are possible and necessary in today’s
working world. These goals cannot be easily achieved
by an individual.
Rather, people have to work together to make them
happen. And if we all commit ourselves to the long-term
process of organisational progress, we will be
rewarded with workplaces that are more productive
and resilient as well as humane.”
Maslach & Leiter
About Burnout

45. No-one should
ever feel like
this –their only
option being:
“Sorry,
but I have
to resign…”

46. He aha te mea nui?
He tangata. He tangata. He tangata.
What is the most important thing?
It is people, it is people, it is people.

47. For further information,
Handbook & Workshops
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