I’m not a medical professional,  but burnout I hear is on the increase, in work and in life.

I sometimes coach staff at work who reach the realisation that they were in burnout, or are heading towards it. Burnout is, in essence, the persistent feeling of total mental, emotional, or physical exhaustion.

In  mentoring and coaching conversations, as we discuss the theme of burnout, coachees travel the road to re-finding energy. To sometimes reconnecting with motivation at work. For some, fortunate enough to have had work they once enjoyed, they might also rediscover a sense of joy at work.

As we journey to solutions,  coachees also discuss what they think contributes to their burnout. Here is a brief, not exhaustive, list of some of the things that mentees or coachees say, that might contribute to their burnout:

• They have individual working habits that regularly push them past the point of exhaustion

• They have a ‘demanding’ role, team, manager, job, life etc.

• They feel trapped in overwork or a demanding role, or even the wrong career, for various reasons   e.g., the pressure of life’s financial demands, lack of skills set to change to another role or career

• Their workplace has a culture and practices of ‘overwork’, unhealthy competition and not taking leave

• They have some mindsets, or individual inner drivers that push them to perfectionism, or to be persistently, unsustainably resilient –  without caring for their wellbeing.

Coaching

The discussion of all of these potential contributing causes can be one step towards finding solutions to burnout, through coaching.

Coaching is a useful space to discuss burnout,  as it provides a safe confidential space and uncovers previously less visible, or emerging solutions.  It can support individuals to face burnout and to find strategies for change.