Exhausted from the pandemic?

It’s fair to say we are all aware of people who are struggling with exhaustion right now. Michael Hempseed shares some crucial steps to help those within our organisations facing burnout.

Let’s face it, 2020 was a rough year for many. Recently, a lot of people have told me they are feeling tired, exhausted or burnt out. I am hearing that more and more people are ‘crashing’. Even if many of us in New Zealand weren’t directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects on the world and New Zealand have been emotionally draining.

Too often everyone thinks someone else will do something, and no one does.

Emotionally draining

Many would expect that the worst psychological impact of the pandemic would be at the beginning, then people would get better over time. This is not what international research suggests. The Canterbury Charity Hospital found that, if people needed counselling immediately after the earthquakes, on average, they needed two to three sessions, which is almost nothing. But if they needed counselling five years later, they required 22 to 23 sessions.

This has been found with earthquakes, terrorist attacks, tsunamis and many other widespread disasters. All things considered, most people cope remarkably well with the immediate effects of a disaster, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When a disaster strikes, many people have a lot of resilience, and they are ready to fight and battle the incoming disaster. However, over time, their resilience is worn away little by little. This is why people who sought help from the charity hospital needed so many more sessions five years later. Also, often when a disaster strikes, we are good at checking in on people in the days and weeks afterwards; it is thought this is very protective.

Many people will say New Zealand is far better off than other countries, so ‘we should be okay’. It is exhausting and emotionally draining watching COVID-19 ravage other parts of the world. The threat of more lockdowns or restrictions has many people on edge, not seeing close family who are overseas has been a source of great pain for many, especially if they are not able to attend significant events such as births, weddings and funerals.

HR at the frontline

HR professionals have had a considerably challenging time in the past year. They may have been forced to make good staff redundant. Many people have changed jobs, which requires considerable extra work, and industries affected by supply chain issues have had numerous headaches. Also, many HR professionals are discovering they are coming across increasingly complex levels of mental illness in the workplace.

A significant difference exists between feeling tired and being burnt out. Someone who is tired can usually recover with a good night’s sleep. Whereas someone who is burnt out often sleeps and sleeps and never feels rejuvenated. For other people, experiencing burn out can be feeling mind-numbingly tired but they just can’t sleep.

How can this be addressed?

One of the most straightforward steps is to make sure that managers and senior leaders are aware of the long-term impact of disasters. Simply bringing more awareness of this means that senior leaders can look out for it and respond more appropriately. I speak to many large companies, and I have been impressed to see that, when I mention the long-term impact of COVID-19, many leaders start taking this seriously and look for ways they can support staff.

Notice those around you

One of the biggest problems with burnout is the person who is burning out is least likely to notice it in themselves. Often people who burn out lose their self-awareness, and they work harder than before.

The best people to spot burn out are family, friends or co-workers. Other people around the person who is burning out will notice that they look tired and aren’t their usual selves. Too often, we are afraid to say something in case we offend the person. If we can help people when they are burning out or before they crash, then the impact can be minimal.

Often if we ask, ‘Are you okay?’, people automatically respond ‘yes’ even if they are not. A better way is to say what you have seen. For example, if you know someone used to be early for work, they dressed well and looked happy, but there has been a change, you should say, “Lately, I’ve noticed you don’t seem to be yourself, you don’t seem to be as happy as you used to be and I’ve noticed you are coming in late. I’m not angry, but I am concerned about you. Have you noticed this too?”.

It is important if you notice this, that you make it your personal responsibility to approach the person. Too often, everyone thinks someone else will do something, and no one does.

Impact on the whole organisation

Burnout can be a significant problem, especially because the good staff are the most likely to burn out. Too often, companies try small changes and hope that will fix the problems. Whereas, usually deep changes are needed that put the wellbeing of staff first. I know of one company that gave an extra week’s leave to staff who were approaching burnout, on top of their existing sick leave and holiday pay. This was expensive, but a number of good staff would have almost certainly left if something wasn’t done and a considerable number of arguments were happening among staff. Often when people are burnt out, they become irritable and moody.

The extra week’s leave saved the company considerable stress, and it paid for itself many times over. It is important to note, this company acted before people were burnt out. It is suggested that however long it takes someone to burnout is how long it takes to recover. So, a week’s leave for someone who is burnt out is not going to do much. This company was proactive, and went ‘hard and fast’.

Maybe your company won’t need to give an extra week’s leave, but it shows the power of taking staff wellbeing seriously. One of the best ways to address burnout is to prevent it in the first place, by being alert to early warning signs and ‘going hard and fast’, so the devastating effects of burnout can be prevented.

Michael Hempseed is the author of Being a true hero: Understanding and Preventing Suicide in Your Community. Although he speaks on ‘dark topics’, the participants at his seminars say they walk away feeling inspired and hopeful, and they even have a few laughs along the way. Many non-professionals come to his seminars and say they learn a lot. But, professionals and experts in the field, such as medical doctors, psychologists and counsellors, also say they learn a lot.