Pandemic Burnout
With lockdowns, closed schools and daycare centres, homeschooling, full time work, and doing all this for a long period of time, people are experiencing burnout more than ever, whether it is at work, parental burnout, or lockdown fatigue.
In the late stages of the Industrial Revolution, people were overworked. In the UK, it was common for the average worker to work 14-16 hours days, six days a week. In the US at the same time, workers worked 100 hours per week on average. In 1940, Fair Labour Standards Act in the US adopted a 40-hours work week. It was also common for the man to go out for work without worrying about housekeeping and family raising, because this was the wife's job. Back then, work and life outside of work were disconnected and clearly defined.
Nowadays, working remotely online means that the web and work are available 24/7. The distinction of "on" and "off"work time is no longer so clear. As knowledge workers, the type of work we do is mental work that stays with us even when we are not officially working. It can be especially hard if leadership celebrates hero culture or models working longer, not smarter, and "getting us across the line", because "sales don't wait for anyone". Basically, between work and commitments at home, we do not get a break!
Women still often do more of the housework than their partners, even when they work because then they feel guilty. And there are so many articles on the effects of the pandemic on the home where women pick up the slack, convince their partners to chip in, or get a pandemic divorce(!). One article by the New York Time tells the sad story of three working mums over the previous eleven months and the demands of their daily lives and work during continuous lockdown.
The old ways of working don't fit anymore and they are not sustainable. Results Only Work Environment (ROWE) is a management strategy that believes people are paid for delivering value rather than for number of hours they work. Getting the work done is more important than having bums on seats (when we had an office that is). In the book we just finished at book club, Brian O'Reilly talks about unlearning old ways and habits of working and thinking to be able to work smarter, not harder.
The chance of experiencing burnout is higher in people that experience negative bias in their superior's assessment of their potential. Those people are more likely to feel regularly alienated at work, withhold ideas or solutions, say they are not proud to work for their companies, and do not refer people in their networks to work at their companies. As leaders, we should remind our people that life happens, even more so during the pandemic, and it is ok to take time for it. If company leaders can rise to the challenges that Covid has thrown at us, it might be the foundation for a more flexible and empathetic workplace for everyone.
In the meantime, please look after yourselves, let us know how you are doing, and if there is anything we can help with.