Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Wikipedia talks about “burnout” this way:
“The most well-studied measurement of burnout in the literature is the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Maslach and her colleague Jackson first identified the construct ‘burnout’ in the 1970s, and developed a measure that weighs the effects of emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of personal accomplishment.[3] This indicator has become the standard tool for measuring burnout in research on the syndrome. The Maslach Burnout Inventory uses a three dimensional description of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy.[4]…Maslach and her colleague, Michael Leiter, defined the antithesis of burnout as engagement.[6] Engagement is characterized by energy, involvement and efficacy, the opposites of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy.[7]“
Too much stress leads to burnout. Relief of stress opens up important floodgates–energy, involvement and efficacy–for those involved in creative pursuits such as writing.
I find it interesting that burnout is expressed by exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. Especially in light of some stress-relievers I’ve written about this week such as maintaining a spirit of hopefulness and optimism.
Here’s a list of burnout symptoms. You might do a personal inventory to see how you rank on the burnout continuum:
Psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North have theorized that the burnout process can be divided into 12 phases, which are not necessarily followed sequentially:
- A compulsion to prove oneself
- Working harder
- Neglecting one’s own needs
- Displacement of conflicts (the person does not realize the root cause of the distress)
- Revision of values (friends or hobbies are completely dismissed)
- Denial of emerging problems (cynicism and aggression become apparent)
- Withdrawal (reducing social contacts to a minimum, becoming walled off; alcohol or other substance abuse may occur)
- Behavioral changes become obvious to others
- Inner emptiness
- Depression
- Burnout syndrome
For our “fried” Friday free-for-all, let’s explore the symptoms of burnout and their opposite qualities. First of all, do you see yourself expressing signs of burnout? Do you see signs of a general state of burnout in publishing? For example, do you see signs of cynicism or inefficacy? How are those signs expressed?
What signs of energy, involvement and efficacy do you see in publishing?
I think it’s fair to say that Burnout can hit in spurts too. One day burned out, the next not so, the next energetic, the next blah.
I find my sore neck is a sure sign that yesterday I was burned out and tried to ignore it. Do that for enough days and suddenly I’m lying on the couch, a heated beanbag on the back of my neck, the coffee table covered in bowls of junk food, AND the TV remote duct taped to my right hand. I love the part where the furnace cuts in and dust bunnies float across my line of vision.
The opposite? None of the above. Of course, I prefer this, but I think maybe burnout is a valuable tool too. It’s like a florescent sign flashing: PAY ATTENTION. YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN AND TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF.
Understanding and remembering what prolonged burnout can do usually straightens me out.
Good post. Thanks, Janet
I’m not sure the temporary condition you describe is really burnout, Joylene, although it is certainly not a condition we want to be in, and might well be the early steps leading to burnout. Isn’t burnout when we have nothing left to give? I think of the blogs I have been following of missionaries working in Haiti (the career kind, not the ones who rush in with inappropriate solutions to problems they don’t understand). Some of them need to get out. They need sleep and food and to think about something besides suffering without feeling guilty for it. Not one day, but weeks. I can imagine a publisher feeling like he/she can’t stop because the publishing house, the authors, and all those people who will go to a Christless eternity without the books are depending on him. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt that as a writer.
I think the way to avoid burnout is to turn the results over to God, but in the situation, that is far easier said than done.
I think our whole country is burned out. As a pastor, I see it in our church, and the prayer requests that come in. I hear about it from fellow pastors in other places. Local law enforcement officials tell me they’re disheartened by a sudden increase in violence and death.
We can’t run from it. We, who have Jesus, can’t slap a stupid Christian smile over the pain, and confess it away.
We have to swim in it. Does the gospel matter in shark-infested waters? I think so. Publisher or no publisher, we have to figure out ways to say it… and to incarnate it… and to translate it into every culture and tribe and mode of communication.
Now if I could just get that publisher to say yes…
I think it’s most evident in the publishing arena when the snark comes out to bully the writers. Or when the cries of “It’s not fair!” appear from writers. When the plain facts in posts about the impossible work loads and the diminishing royalty opportunites are presented in resigned “voices”, it’s like saying “Enough.”
Renewed optimism shows up most when the pros post about their love for the crazy biz, their instructional help for writers at all stages, and their joy at getting new contracts or simply reading good books.
My overview assesses the situation at 60/40 with burnout over efficacy.
Janet,
Burnout, stress and overcommitment are issues dear to my heart, and core issues of my writing and speaking.
Every bullet point you shared has a lie Christians (esp. those w/ a streak of perfectionism) fall prey to. Here are few:
•A compulsion to prove oneself “I’m only as good/loved as my last performance.”
•Working harder “It all depends on ME and MY plan.”
•Neglecting one’s own needs “It’s good/biblical to put everyone else ahead of myself.”
•Displacement of conflicts (the person does not realize the root cause of the distress) “My life would be easier if… people would quit interrupting me, I had better equipment and a nicer work space, my spouse/kids/co-workers/boss/editor/publicist would…”
My short Rx to recover from burnout:
1) get some sleep; 2) have some fun!
Blessings and restings!