doHow can we avoid burnout and exhaustion when we operate in an environment where overwork is the norm? It is not easy to leave the office at 6pm, or even 9pm or 10pm, when you work in a consultancy, an investment bank, a start-up… or simply when you have a workaholic boss who thinks everyone should get in line.
Unfortunately, this happens more and more, even in administrations and even in associations that “working for the good of humanity”. Not to mention the self-employed, farmers, doctors, artisans, some of whom set no limits to their commitment. “Thanks, but no”…Who dares to act like Bartleby, Herman Melville’s hero, imperturbably rejecting any new task?
The idea is not to constantly count the hours at the risk of giving up any success, but, before the rush to return to school, to identify the intimate mechanisms and misconceptions that can push you to accept a dangerous pace, or even to inflict it on yourself, at the risk of suffering from the burnout that affects 5 to 10% of workers each year.
It affects efficiency as well as morale and health.
Working hard provides adrenaline and some people find it hard to do without it. But the risks of mistakes, professional misconduct and even accidents have been shown to increase when hours are not counted. The quality of work of executives, doctors or other professionals is compromised, even if they believe they are doing the right thing by invading their time off.
A frenetic pace generates chronic exhaustion in the long term, which affects efficiency, morale and health. “good students” learn to perform, not to set limits. But this aspiration to do well sometimes takes us too far, especially for those who suffer “impostor syndrome” and who, despite their abilities, lack self-confidence.
Nothing is easier for a skilled manager than to take advantage of a feeling of insecurity by making unfavorable comparisons, challenging those who are weakened by a narcissistic defect to do more… When in doubt, be careful! Many employees have incorporated a pattern of overwork inherited from their family circle and their schooling.
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Socialized in an environment where professional life plays a central role, having carried out very restrictive studies, they are accustomed to “not listening to yourself” and consider overwork normal. With such premises, it does not occur to them to negotiate their workload, their private life may seem boring and some even fear the downtime that confronts them with their anxiety. Once again, with such a school and family history, be careful! Believing that you can somehow buy the right to work less later by stepping on the accelerator at the start of your career is a bet that rarely wins.
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