The stress of the pandemic has impacted more people than any other event in the recent past. As a result, seven hundred thousand white-collar workers quit their jobs in July 2021 alone. Employees are burned-out and no longer willing to put up with the status quo, but not everyone is jumping to the next available job. Instead, they are using this time to understand what they want to get out of work before deciding to make their move.
The stress of Covid-19
A Harris Poll study found that 76% of U.S. employees are currently experiencing burnout. The general stress and trauma related to Covid-19, working a lot longer hours, the transition to remote work, and now the uncertainty of the return to the office are significant factors. Still, there are other deeper underlying issues that, because of Covid-19 that people are no longer willing to tolerate.
Burnout is real
Burnout is not simply a consequence of long hours or handling many more tasks than before. The cynicism, depression, and lethargy typical of burnout most often occur when we experience a lack of control over our work or if the work doesn't align with our core values - working toward a goal that doesn't resonate. Most type A personalities will think that we should stop feeling sorry for ourselves and suck it up. "It is not that bad. I am getting paid a lot of money to do this work, even if it doesn't make me happy." We must accept that we have a problem and that it doesn't have to be that way. Burnout is a real thing. We are not "just tired" or "slightly overworked." We must take the time and be honest with ourselves.
Understanding our intrinsic motivations
The exercise that I do with my coaching clients is to consider and write down the moments in their life that they feel alive and, on the flip side, the moments that they feel least engaged. This exercise helps us define how we feel when we work and our intrinsic motivations. In his famous book Drive, Dan Pink states that individuals are happy, engaged, productive, and creative when intrinsically motivated, instead of being motivated extrinsically by money, fear, punishment, or shame. He further says that intrinsic motivation comes from autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Autonomy is our desire to be self-directed; mastery, the urge to improve our skills; and purpose, our desire to contribute to something meaningful.
Quitting is not the solution
The increased stress of the pandemic and the realization that our stress is based on underlying issues beyond Covid might make us want to quit our job. Is there an organization that will be a better fit for us? Or would the situation change if we worked for ourselves? Little will change if we continue to be extrinsically motivated by money, fear, punishment, or shame. We can't expect that there will be a perfect organization or that working for ourselves will change anything.
Listen to your heart
Through my work with my clients and myself, I found that to counter burnout; it helps to get clarity of our sense of purpose, the impact we have on others, and how we can make the world a better place. Often, meaningfulness can counteract the negative aspects of work. This is not an exercise of the brain but that of the heart. Taking the time to listen to the heart can help us understand our intrinsic motivations and reduce burnout.
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