The fear and embarrassment we may feel when talking about our job burnout appears as a solution on the table.
It is possible that the simple fact of thinking about it, gives rise to all the reasons that make us believe that the best thing to do is simply not to talk about it.
Is that really the best thing to do, to leave things as they are and hope that exhaustion will go away "on its own", that the solution will come "on its own"?
This can only end in deeper burnout, not a solution.
What can we do to make this start to change?
The first thing to do is to define what we need to stop feeling exhausted, whether it is a change of schedule, missing a few days of work, going to therapy and talking about it, it is vital .
Then, discussing it with our superiors is a key point, as it gives us the opportunity to make the adjustments that are needed to return to balance and not remain constantly overloaded.
For the risk we have in mind, many positive things can come hand in hand with being open about how we feel: greater trust with colleagues, creating openness for others to open up, and a shift from a "pressure cooker" work culture to something more humane.
Solving burnout is much more feasible if the adjustment in the company goes hand in hand with the adjustment in our personal life.
Dr. Erin Kelly, professor at MIT Sloan School of Management, conducted a research where it was evidenced that changes in team management in companies is one of the most effective ways to prevent and alleviate burnout.
Their study showed that employees whose managers were trained to understand how they felt personally and professionally, and give them flexibility to work as they wished, had significantly lower levels of burnout and psychological distress.
They are also 40% less likely to resign.
