Many clients I see are either experiencing or recovering from burn out, and the results of a recent survey of 900 workers by a NZ recruitment company showed 68% felt more burnt out than this time last year, and 62% were either looking for new jobs or unsure how long they’d stay in their current one (Source: RNZ).
It doesn’t surprise me that burn out has increased as more people are working from home, or that more than half of those wanting to leave their jobs cited poor leadership as the reason. Far from acknowledging the additional pressures of working from home during lockdowns, particularly if home schooling is involved, and the toll on mental health that employees have suffered during the pandemic, many leaders have instead increased the workload and expectations of employees’ availability.
Obviously employers are going to have to up their game if they want to attract and retain good talent in the current tight labour market, but what can employees themselves do to reduce the risk of burnout? There’s no silver bullet, but I believe having good boundaries is key.
Sure, setting and sticking to boundaries when it comes to work can be easier said than done, but I’ve seen a number of clients find the courage and confidence to push back, and they’ve achieved it through getting clear about the following four things:
1. Clarity on the lifestyle they want to be living, and that their work needs to support.
You only live once (in this incarnation at least!), so how would you like that to be? What would it look like, when you reach 80 and reflect on how you spent your years?
2. Clarity on what they value.
Aligning what you want to achieve with your core values can be an incredible source of strength and courage. Think about this when defining your boundaries and choosing how you spend your time.
3. Clarity on the negative self talk that could get in their way.
Once you are aware of the negative self talk that is unhelpfully getting in the way of achieving the life you’d rather be living, you can develop and apply mindfulness techniques to address any unhelpful thoughts that are serving as a barrier.
4. Clarity on what success looks like for them.
As I’ve written about previously, defining what success looks like to you at work and home can help you to be more deliberate about how you manage your worklife and career decisions.
Ultimately, when you give yourself space to think about what is really, truly important to you, you are more likely to find the will and courage to protect that by setting and maintaining clear boundaries.
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If you would like help to get better at putting boundaries around your work and homelife, get in touch. I’d be happy to help.
