Academic’s guide to overcoming burnout

Burnout is so common that its very mention in a headline can cause eyes to glaze over. Though the idea of burnout might be a tired one, the advice recently given by an RMIT academic certainly is not.

Dr Asanka Gunasekara, lecturer in human resource management and people analytics, recently delivered a new slate of recommendations for those looking to overcome burnout. The end-of-year period is as good a time as any to get on top of burnout, as our faculties are stretched thin by heightened work and social demands.

Let’s unpack the recommendations and discover how you can get back in control of your work life.

1. Challenge self-victimisation

Self-victimisation is an informal term for the idea that victimhood can become a self-perpetuating part of one’s identity. Most medical professionals avoid using the term since, apart from it not being an official medical term, it carries a certain judgmental stigma. When used carelessly, it can invalidate struggle or hardship. The context in which Dr Gunasekara uses the term, however, is more specific. In using the term, Dr Gunasekara is referring to the tendency for overworked individuals to brag and often exaggerate about their workloads.

“We often experience and partake in burnout ‘one-upping’ in chats with friends and colleagues. Bragging about how burnt out you are and how hard/late/long you are working perpetuates the need to always seem busy or to always be doing more,” she explained.

Most concerningly, the game of ‘one-uppery’ can encourage others to play along – potentially adding a kind of contagious element to the overwork. Instead, said Dr Gunasekara, colleagues and friends should look for opportunities to encourage in one another a healthy approach to work. To “seek self-care opportunities and to role model healthy work/life balance in our own lives”.

2. Take a total leadership approach

In 2022, Dr Gunasekara co-authored a paper on the work/life impacts of hybrid work and the case for so-called “total leadership”. The paper defines the term as “experimenting with changes that potentially enhance life satisfaction in four key domains: work, home, community, and self”.

As noted by Dr Gunasekara, it encourages us to “value all parts of our lives (not just work)”. The research found that changes to one of those four domains can have a spillover effect, meaning a benefit to self-care, for example, can enhance our approach to work.

As explained in SHRM, total leadership is not an abstract idea: “It is a structured method that produces measurable change.” It is not about juggling commitments; it is about integrating them in a complementary way.

3. Have agency over your own wellbeing

“Starting afresh in 2024, not from a point of deficit, starts with ourselves,” said Dr Gunasekara. “Take that break, use mindfulness practices, and pay attention to how you feel.”

Agency is a psychological concept composed of four elements: forethought, implementation, self-management, and learning and adapting. An “agentic mindset” can be understood as the following: “I have the skills and resources I need (or can obtain them), feel motivated to apply them, and am acting in ways that will accomplish what is needed.”

Though asserting agency over work and wellbeing will look different from person to person, Dr Gunasekara recommended the following: “Deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, spending time outdoors, and prioritising sleep can help manage the burnout feeling.”

4. Mind over matter

Though “mind over matter” can surely be found in every other self-help guide with questionable authorship, Dr Gunasekara uses it in a very specific way. What she means is that employees should strive to foster a realistic, forgiving mindset.

“Be realistic with expectations; it’s OK to be good enough and not achieve perfection in everything we do. Accepting our limits will help re-adjust our goals and attitude towards life,” she explained.

Perfectionism in work, for many reasons, is on the rise. A recent study found that the blame should be laid partly at the feet of social media comparisons and partly because of increasingly competitive workplaces. While it is not without its benefits, research shows it is not good for your career. Indeed, one study found it is linked with burnout, depression, anxiety, and even mortality, said Forbes.

Being more forgiving and realistic is, therefore, not only a potential salve to end-of-year burnout, but it is also good for your career. “Stop and celebrate the wins instead of dwelling on what didn’t get done,” stressed Dr Gunasekara.

5. Question that sense of urgency

“The right to disconnect” has attracted a lot of attention in recent times. It’s the idea that “clocking off” has become difficult, and sometimes impossible, in the modern work environment as employees are expected to be accessible at all times. One way to get at this problem is to analyse the expectations of the employer. Another is to question whether that sense of urgency felt by employees really tracks with the task at hand.

“Urgency has become a norm in the modern world – whether it be to respond to a text message or to complete an urgent job task making us feel overwhelmed,” said Dr Gunasekara.

“Enforce a digital detox by unplugging technology over a selected period for our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of everyone around us. We deserve it.”

While going offline is not a realistic prospect for many of us, others can only respect those barriers that we first assert. Question what really needs to get done and what can wait.